Friday the conference began at 9am, so, in preparation of the two-hour journey to their church in Overland Park I woke up at 430am and left the house at 500am ... wow, that was early! After a quick stop for very expensive gasoline (college town!), I started a drive that I had been looking forward too ... some time in the car with just me and God ... and the radio ... and my singing! :)
Not even 20 minutes into the drive ... right before I got onto the interstate a wall of rain pounded the car and it quickly began to hail ... not good! First of all, I'm not fond of driving in the dark ... and especially not in thunderstorms. So, with all of the other drivers on the road, I pulled into the closest gas station and waited it out, calling David several times to express my anguish and have him look up the weather report to know where this crazy storm was coming from and how long it was going to last!
All that said, I finally made it to KC ... it took me a little over 5 hours (the storm was only going 15 miles/hour, so after it stopped one place I'd start driving again and it'd catch up, so I just planted myself at Starbucks for awhile and waited for it to completely pass). The pre-conference that was held Friday morning was absolutely amazing, with Marilyn Meberg and Kathy Troccoli speaking on the topic "God at Your Wits End" ... how fitting!
I cannot say enough about the morning session ... it was absolutely amazing, and God reminded me how He is the “peace in the midst of the storm” ... He guided me through that long trip to Kansas City and comforted me in my panic/distress ... but that's not the only way He encouraged me on Friday, and the whole weekend for that matter. I believe that many times, we are so busy doing "life" that we forget to live life! In the midst of the chaos of life ... full schedules ... screaming (or very independent) toddlers ... errands to run ... dinners to make ... we get caught up in a storm that quickly overtakes us ... but God is the peace, the calm in the calamity! Jennifer Rothschild (who has an AMAZING testimony) spoke a powerful truth ... "it may not be well with our circumstance, but it IS well with our souls!" ... God is so great, and in the midst of life's storms, He is there ... He will never leave ... He will always love ... and that is such a message of hope! God is Good!
After a great afternoon break of walking through downtown Kansas City ... the City Market, the great little Italian Bistro ... the antique shops ... the very, very steep hills, we returned for the opening of the conference ... we heard Nicole Johnson and Pasty Clairmont, who were two women that I've been so excited to see! Everything was just beautiful ... what a breath of fresh air to be in an arena packed full of women who love the Lord and want to worship Him and learn about how to better serve Him ... an amazing experience!
This morning was an early one (and a wet one) but we made it and even had some time to spare for family pictures in our great seats!
After a weekend of great lessons and a very treasured time with Kathy and Heather I headed back home to my boys ... I had only been gone for a day and a half and already missed them terribly!
I pray that in the midst of the life, you direct your focus to the Lord; to knowing Him, to loving Him, to serving Him ... I guarantee that if you commit every breath, every minute, every day to the Lord, He will enrich your life with such purpose and peace, that no storm (not even a really, really scary one) will get you down!
Blessings To You!
Kate
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