"My boss is giving me the 30th off if I work all my days off!" My heart leapt into my throat! It was about two weeks before the layover in LA on our way to Asia, and my boyfriend, Jacob, told me he planned on coming. It had been a long three months of not seeing him…and now I had the chance to spend a whole 5 hours with him! Nicaragua for our team was amazing…the host, the community, the church, was just incredible. Two weeks into the month, everything was awesome. And now, I had something to look forward to after leaving. I was able to stay present and excited at the same time…to invest in the family and still invest in my relationship and preparing my heart for this blessing. Fast Forward to when we travelled to Managua to begin our travel adventures…to then finding out my dad has cancer…to staying up all night because I was too emotional/excited about seeing Jacob in less than 24 hours…and it was finally time to get on the plane to America. The first flight to Atlanta was decent…and went by fairly quickly…and there was internet. The second flight, however, was BRUTAL. It was an international plane for some reason, so there was no internet on board. And there was a little flight tracker on the screens in front of us. So when we got about an hour and twenty minutes from LA, I kid you not, I watched that little plane move from dot…to dot…to dot…until finally I felt the plane begin to sink toward the earth below. My knee was bouncing…I couldn't sit still…I was sweating in places I had never sweat before…and I couldn't wipe a stupid grin off my face. Everyone in my squad kept laughing at me and mentioning how happy they were for me that I had this chance…and soon enough, I was stepping off the plane and walking into the LAX Airport.
After hitting up customs, watching one arrest (fake passport) and an extremely long escalator ride I saw him. It's almost like my brain couldn't register that it was really him…Everything else went away. I put my hands to my mouth in shock…in excitement…and before I knew it…I was finally in his arms again. He pulled me into his chest and I sobbed over and over again for a solid 20-30 seconds. After three months of bouncing from country to country…I finally felt like I was home. There were cheers from my racer friends…and soon, Jacob was being introduced to all 55+ people on the squad. I couldn't take my eyes off of him…I couldn't not be touching him in some way…I wanted to stuff him in my pack and carry him with me for the rest of the race. After getting my pack from baggage claim, we went to dinner with another couple…(my sister, Teresa's boyfriend surprised her in LA) and my sister Leslie to In-N-Out burger. I couldn't believe that I was in LA with Jake. It was an incredible sunset…there were palm trees everywhere…it was the perfect temperature outside…I wanted the night to never end. After some amazing burgers and friends, Jake and I split off to grab a few drinks and celebrate our soon-to-be anniversary together. It was so amazing to talk and encourage each other. He told me how his job was, how his family was doing, and how my dog Emma was coping without me. We talked about my family and how they were doing with everything going on. I remember just staring at him…memorizing his face…his shorter-than-I-had-ever-seen hair…his smile…
Almost as soon as it started…it was time to be over. I walked him to his gate and sorta stood there for a minute. I silently thanked Jesus for this chance too see him. After some sweet kisses and hugs, I had to let him go again. As he walked away into security, while sadness was very much there, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of thankfulness. Jesus was too good to me. I couldn't believe that He would give such a sweet gift to me. I thought it was a petty thing to pray for. Turns out kids, He does want to bless you with the desires of your heart. And nothing is too small to ask for. He waved goodbye from the escalator and a single tear ran down my cheek as I smiled and waved back. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be…but I think that's because we both knew that it was temporary. So we came into the evening knowing that we should simply enjoy every second together and not take a moment for granted. Which is exactly what we did.
