I took this picture. Lovely, isn’t it? Well, here is the story to me getting that shot.
David and I celebrated our twentieth anniversary last month in Europe with our boys. The trip took ten months to plan and every detail was laid out in a thirty page Google document. We saw thirty-eight sites, rode in nineteen taxis, were gone eighteen days, rode twelve trains, visited ten cities and towns, stayed in nine hotels, toured eight cathedrals, traveled to seven countries, explored six castles, took five flights, strolled and played in four Christmas markets, “hired” three bikes, collapsed on two ferries, and rented one car.
The featured picture was taken in Ireland. My plan for this particular day of our trip was to bike Inis Mor, the largest of the Aran Islands. I was elated to share with my family the same biking experience I did twenty-eight years prior when I studied abroad in college. I booked our ferry tickets months in advance from Rossaveel port because Doolin port, though closer to our hotel, is closed during the winter months. Google maps told me it was a two hour drive from our hotel to Rossaveel port, but I did not account for ice, narrow roads, or the fact that we were driving in another country.
The seven o’clock alarm sounded at our Ennistymon hotel. We quickly got ready and took the hotel’s complimentary breakfast with us (very American of us, I know). David defrosted the car’s windshield while the boys and I got the food. The onset of the journey north was not smooth. David slowly inched our rental car down icy Irish one lane roads meant for two way traffic. With the heat blasting and Christmas music playing, we held our breath and wiggled our way beyond Galway and to the ferry’s port. The 10:30 am ferry out of Rossaveel was the only ferry running to the Aran Islands. If we missed our ferry, we were missing my nostalgic moment to reminisce and share a college experience with my husband and children. When I get my heart set on something, there is no deterring me, and my husband knows this about me.
David knew the day depended on us making this ferry, so he did everything in his power to get us there on time. We made the ferry with six minutes to spare. David was so depleted from all the adrenaline leaving his body after the drive that he slept on the ferry from sheer exhaustion. I owe the day to him!
Thirty minutes on the ferry then we arrived at the Inis Mor pier. A 100-yard walk took us to our bike rentals. I had rented two bikes for our sons and one tandem bike for David and me. David had not biked in forty-one years due to a childhood accident, so I thought a tandem bike in Ireland was the remedy. Riding tandem with another adult is quite different then hauling your toddler around behind you in a bike seat. You and the other adult have to balance your weight together while peddling simultaneously. We had trouble getting started because of this. Perched on our tandem, we were both holding onto a rail at the bike rental shop for balance, and I remember David saying, “I don’t think I can do this.” Here we had made it to the island on time, but in this moment, I thought a tandem bike was going to take the day from us. I watched my husband push through a mental block, and the next thing I knew, we were off. We communicated, balanced, and trusted one another for nine miles. About four miles into the ride, we stopped at Kilmurvey Beach to take in the view.
We took family pictures at the beach, admired the beauty, and paid no attention to the black cloud rolling in. Within minutes, we were caught in a hail storm as we kept biking to make our way to our lunch destination. The large pellets of ice hurt as they hurled down to soak us and cause us to miss the one turn we needed to get to the restaurant. We were wet, hungry, and lost.
We finally arrived at the thatched roof cottage for a late lunch. We parked the bikes, squeaked through the front door, and made our way to a table right by a wood burning fireplace. I went back outside to take pictures, turned around, and smiled. We drove for hours on icy roads, barely made our ferry, struggled initially on a tandem bike, and biked through a hail storm, but this rainbow was on the other side of all the struggle.
Back inside, our exterior layers hung on extra chairs around our fireside table. Steam came off of our winter coats, gloves, and beanies as the garments adjusted to the temperature change. The ambience was everything I wanted it to be. Wood beams lined the white ceiling. The slate floor, wood burning fireplace, and wooden furniture painted pale blue brought an element of warmth against the white stucco walls. Lace window dressings and table cloths softened the hard textures. Green garland hung over the front door from the inside, and multi colored Christmas lights surrounded the fireplace and hutch in the corner. The meal was comforting and the desserts were delicious. The restaurant owner’s sister not only fed us but nurtured us. She asked to take our wet clothes and dry them for us. We sat by the fire in our Long Johns drying ourselves as we drank hot chocolate, reminisced about the day, and laughed at David talking about how much he would pay to have someone drive him back to the pier. All of this was taking place under one of God’s many rainbows.
There is a lot I could say about the Lord from this experience. He is good in giving the rainbows and is good even in the midst of hailstorms. He loves me, and I know this to be true even if we missed the ferry. He gets us through past traumas even if it takes forty something years. His grace is what keeps marriages together, and his grace is still at work in his children whose marriages have ended. He is the giver of the sun and the rain. The rainbow is his.
I will always remember this one day of biking in Ireland and a rainbow arched perfectly above a thatched roof Irish cottage while we laughed and ate within. I will always remember our glorious eighteen day trip to Europe. But more than an adventurous trip, I want to proclaim who God is as he reveals himself in his Word.
Here is what Psalm 145 says about God and his goodness.
- He is King of kings (v.1)
- His people will praise him every day and forever (v.1-2, 10)
- God is great (v.3)
- God is worthy of praise (v.3)
- No one can fathom his greatness (v.3)
- Each generation will tell of his works to the next (v.4)
- His people will
- proclaim his mighty acts (v.4)
- meditate on the glorious splendor of his majesty (v.5)
- meditate on his wonderful works (v.5)
- tell of the power of his awesome works (v.6)
- proclaim his great deeds (v.6)
- celebrate his abundant goodness (v.7)
- sing of his righteousness (v.7)
- God is gracious (v.8)
- God is compassionate (v.8)
- God is slow to anger (v.8)
- God is rich in steadfast love (v.8)
- God is good to all (v.9)
- His mercy is over all he has made (v.9)
- His people will tell of the glory of his kingdom and speak of his power (v.11)
Inis Mor is a beautiful, vast space of green land, but its flowers will fade. What we saw and where we visited in Europe was remarkable, but God’s kingdom is far greater. His kingdom is glorious and everlasting (vv.11-13). Jesus brought the kingdom when he came to earth from heaven (Matt, Mark, Luke, John), and he will bring the kingdom to completion at his return (the four gospels and Revelation). The kingdom is here, but not yet in its fullness. For now, the kingdom is growing like a mustard seed (Matt 13, Luke 13), and it will continue to grow until God completes his work of redemption. At Jesus’s return, believers will be gathered to him, and we will begin life as it was always meant to be lived – perfectly. Like I never want a moment in a cottage at Inis Mor warming myself by a fire and laughing with three of my favorite people to end, I will never tire of the perfect forever that is ahead because of who God is and all he provides. God is faithful, loving, satisfying, righteous, kind, near, fulfilling, hearing, and preserving (vv.13-20). My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord (v.21)!