Time away and then again

We went down to my parents house for a long weekend and got back Sunday night. It was relaxing. Thursday, while Hillary was with college friends and my parents were working I took two naps (one in the morning and one after lunch with my grand pop). It was amazing. I can't remember the last time I've had two naps in one day. Besides the luxury of napping, it was good to have time with my family and they enjoyed having us (especially Wesley) there. He went on wagon rides, played in the pool, ran through the sprinkler, jumped on a trampoline, was pushed in the swing, ate ice cream, and had all sorts of extra attention. Sometimes when I go away it is hard to leave work behind and even when I do, I don't necessarily relax. This time I was able to do both. I worked on a few things, but wasn't preoccupied. The only thing I would have liked to play out differently was more time with God. There were some great lulls in the activity where I could read or pray, but there were many points where I was disconnected from that reality.
This week we're heading to St. Louis and Nashville to follow up with supporters from the past three years. We're looking forward to the trip, but a little apprehensive as we think about Wesley's schedule and how that will be affected by travel and a time zone change. Another aspect that is a little strange is that we'll be missing church for the second Sunday in a row. With so much of our focus directed towards our away it is easy to feel disconnected from life in West Hartford. Teens started school last week and it will be another two weeks till I see many of them and hear how it has gone. I wonder how it is for God who sees all these different places and times happening, yet it is all integrated into one whole. My life can be so disjointed at points yet his is seamless, fully integrated, into one masterful picture. It is hard, as a created being, to think of the ways of creator.