A sign from God?

This morning I was beginning to think perhaps God was sending us a message reminding us of our vow to travel lightly. We started out with such good intentions... got our microfleece hoodies, and quick-dry underwear and microfiber clothing in a limited color scheme so everything works with everything, etc etc. We even switched to tooth powder, bar shampoo and shaving oil to minimize our liquids.

But then we started thinking about how we really can't live without two cameras (not point and shoots, mind you, but full sized SLRs), three lenses, teleconverter, close up rings, flash(s) and, of course, all the batteries and the necessary chargers to power them. And we'll need a laptop to view and sort all the fabulous photos we'll be taking. And a monopod that can serve as a walking stick and converts to a spiffy little tripod would be a good idea too. Ok. Well maybe we can fit a lot of that stuff in our coat pockets and not have to try to stuff it in our carry-on. We'll look like the Michelen Man as we board, but they don't tell you that you have to empty your pockets. And, of course, Jeff broke his leg a month ago and that complicates things. It's healing well and he doesn't need crutches, but we decided a pair of walking sticks would probably be a good thing. Those are collapsible, but they're still longer than 22" at their smallest - too big for a carry-on. And then Jeff got to thinking how nice it would be, since we'll have all this quiet time in the evenings in our RV out in the New Zealand wilderness, to have a guitar with us. He does really enjoy playing and I enjoy listening and it is extremely relaxing for us both. And (who knew?) there are travel guitars out there to be had. We could hear E-bay calling and the orders were placed.

So now here I am to the part where I thought God was tapping us on the shoulder. The travel guitar was to be delivered yesterday. It wasn't. When we checked the tracking number, FedEx assured us it was indeed delivered. We were home all day, and believe me, it wasn't delivered. The monopod was supposed to be delivered today, but when Jeff checked the tracking on that, it showed that the street address had been left off the label and the item was returned to the shipper. Don't imagine we'll see that by tomorrow. So I got to theorizing that perhaps we should see these things as signs and try to get back to our original plan. On top of that, we've been worried about how quickly Jeff's leg is healing and trying to balance out how much rest and how much exercise he should be getting. Of course, it's been raining for the past week, so that leg has gotten lots of rest. So you can see how reasonable it is to assumethese are all signs that we should be paying attention to.

Just as I got it figured out, the sun came out and the old lady a block away from us (3511 and we are 3611) came by with the guitar. There you have it. Don't ever think you can know what God is planning for you.