Of course, her greatest impact was in her own family. Jan was never far from my mind last month at
Martha’s wedding. On the one hand, I
know Jan would have enjoyed the event.
But as Jan said in her own words, “Don’t grieve for me. I know where I’m going.” I choose to believe that somehow Jan already
knows the good things that has happened to her children and the good things yet
to come.
One of the good things to come will begin tomorrow when I
leave the country for 16 days. Sara,
Hannah, and I will meet in New Zealand for 2 weeks of adventure through
Middle-earth (the setting for the fictional film, The Lord of the Rings). We have been planning this vacation for about
a year. Hannah and I will do a
backpacking trip along the Milford Track, acclaimed as one of the most
beautiful hikes in the world winding its way through luscious forests, glaciered
valleys, and majestic mountains. We will
pass one of the tallest waterfalls in the world.
At the end of the hike, Sara will join us at Milford Sound,
said to be one of the most awesome natural wonders of the world where the ocean
fingers its way inland between towering mountains and thundering waterfalls. We will spend Hannah’s birthday kayaking on
the blue waters of the sound as we enjoy God’s creation. We will then travel to Christchurch,
Wellington, Whakapapa National Park, and end at Rotorua where we will visit the
Shire (another Lord of the Rings location).
Jan loved to travel and see new places. So Sara, Hannah, and I will continue this
family tradition of making precious memories that we can carry with us for a
lifetime. Jan also looked forward to the
day when our family would grow. We now
have Andrea and Philip, plus one more.
David and Andrea are expecting their first child by the beginning of
August! A new generation who can benefit
from Jan’s godly legacy.
1 comment:
Mark, we always enjoy your blog- we have been to several of the places that you will visit in NZ- we never back-packed or saw Milford Sound. We have been to Christchurch, Wellington, Rotorua, Auckland and a number of other places- we traveled to the southern part of the South Island - NZ is such a beautiful country. I have always thought that, if for some reason we could not live in the US, NZ would be my country of first choice. You will stand in awe at the beauty you see and experience. So glad two of your children can join you AND that you will become Lolo in August!!
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