2 Corinthians 13:11-12 Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
“Boat drink, boys in the band ordered boat drinks, visitors scored on the home rink, everything seems to be wrong…”
Or incredibly right. What a wonderful and peaceful day. We awoke with no plans whatsoever. Thursday is Sweden Day, and as our lovely hosts admitted they had no idea what that is. As it turns out Sweden Day is a day to celebrate more or less the fact that Sweden has never been conquered. As a result they don’t bother with an independence day like in the US, they don’t need one. But everyone likes a day off I guess, so hence, Sweden Day.
As everything is basically closed for Sweden Day we simply hung around the house. Hanne and Christian kindly pulled out their kayaks and stand up paddle boards which all the kids immediately gravitated towards. I went for a run through the local park, and Sara did some yoga. We were also treated to an Air Force helicopter flying the Swedish flag over the house.
After lunch we decided to take the boat into Karlskrona and go get ice cream. Our kids were excited beyond the pale to get to ride in a boat again and so we hopped aboard and took to the high seas, or at least the calm and serene bays. We docked in the city and then traversed our way through the Sweden Day celebrations occurring around us. Most notably was a biker group that drove through downtown and then parked in front of the main city square. The kids all got ice cream and then decided to go to a cemetery, or more aptly stated a graveyard, nearby at one of the churches. There they played zombie tag and had fun.
Following our short foray into town we hopped back aboard the boat and while Hanne, Sara, Jonathan, and I played cards, the other kids took turns driving the boat. Despite our captains’ youth we made it home safely and proceeded to enjoy a quiet evening with dinner, wine, and good conversation.
I know that not everyone shares our same faith but I am feel so blessed that everyone on this journey has shared our same love for each other. Paul no doubt was speaking of the God of Christ in his letter but in this closing he simply says “agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” The God of love and peace was most certainly with us today and we are grateful.
Sara's Daily Scripture and Journal 