This past weekend was one I'll never forget for many reasons. I packed up the car on Friday morning with all the necessities for a weekend away, including my baby boy, and drove southeast to spend a few days in Beaufort. The photos I took while traveling document the magic of this gorgeous seaside town, but they don't tell the whole story of what this weekend was like. I loved pushing B along the waterfront as I recalled walking the very same path just a year prior with him growing inside of me, all of the charm still made my heart beat fast, and we even got to have a precious play date on Sunday morning before coming home with one of my friends from college + her son.
Some of the things not pictured were the plethora of trials I faced while there, including unloading + reloading Becca with a twenty-pound baby on my hip and walking down the loooooong hallway that took us to our room, staying out late two nights in a row with a sleepy, snotty-nosed baby, and driving alone for eight hours in a matter of three days with a mostly-sleeping-but-sometimes-screaming baby. Whew. Shout out to all the single moms who travel alone with small kiddos - you're all beasts! Physically and emotionally, I was (and still am) exhausted. Thanks to my prayer warriors back home who knew how difficult this weekend was going to be for me + my great God who faithfully sustained me through every high + low, however, the weight that tried its best to crush me didn't (insert a loud HALLELUJAH!! here).
One of the hardest things for me is to be content with not having any control over how a situation plays out, and there were a lot of moments like that this weekend. God continues to remind me through His Word + His Church that my character is being shaped in those moments of disappointment, but they're not easy lessons to learn. Kindness is always the best option, tears aren't a sign of weakness, a genuine smile has so much more power than we give it credit for, and a day isn't made good or bad based on one's circumstances but rather on one's perspective. I'm still trying to teach these truths to myself, especially during those moments when they seem to be the hardest to believe. There was little thriving and a whole lot of barely surviving on this adventure; that's just the way of the world sometimes. Yep, sometimes the messy seems to overpower the beautiful, but my Father keeps remind me (kicking and screaming, at times) that the "what" is never greater than the "why" (Romans 8:28).
Beaufort, you are just so pretty! Your simple elegance provided the perfect amount of distraction to keep me sane, the tastiest farewell cup of coffee I've ever had (thank you, Common Ground), and plenty of reasons to visit you again soon.
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