Gimli.......brutally honest

Very hot. Very sunny. Gimli, Manitoba. Sorta touristy, but not the touristy I'm used to. Pretty spot, but kinda rough. And that's okay. We're not much for flashy tourism......that's not us. But this day didn't quite go down the way we'd hoped. But, that's life, right? Not always what you hope or dream. Not always a shiny cheerful picture to display before the world. Instead, sometimes things go bad and you're not really sure why but you need to take it. And forgive. And ask forgiveness. And realize that we live in a fallen world. And we're pilgrims. One day it'll all be different and every trip will be only beauty and wonder and pure thankfulness to our Creator and Saviour.

Yvetta on the pier. I told her to dance for the picture.....to blend in with the charming scene she was standing in front of. Instead, she did this rather modern sort of wiggle that made me wonder what she's been watching when I'm not looking........

You're wondering what made this trip what it was. Well, here's part of the picture. Above, on Laura's back, unbeknownst to her, were fish flies. They are inhabiting Gimli in the thousands. Following our every move. Alighting on us at every opportunity. Gross. Just gross.

The marina was very pretty - very picturesque. And right out there under the baking hot MB sun. Wow. Hot.

We captured a nice shot of me swimming with Laura, Yvetta and Corin. I guess I can understand now where Yvetta gets her "moves" from........did you know I could do that? ;)

Fish flies. Dead. By the thousands. Gross. Just gross. They covered every surface, got caught in our hair, crunched beneath our feet, and let off a strange odour. Well, maybe not, but there was a strange odour in the air and our minds linked it directly to those bugs.

Yvetta waiting for our fries. She was very happy - I just caught her at a contemplative moment :) This was the highlight of our trip. We went to a restaurant called Europa and ordered 2 family packs of french fries. They packed the 2 containers so full that it took 2 people to pack them - one to hold the container while the other put an elastic around it to hold it closed against all the fries overflowing the edges. YUMMY! Thanks for the tip, Agnes :)

Swimming was very refreshing for those of us who swam. Some didn't bring bathings suits. Some thought the water was kinda gross........you know, just b/c it was rather brackish looking and had lots of dead fish flies floating around in it...... But Corin overcame some fears, Yvetta bobbed away in her floaty from Elaina (thank-you so much, Elaina!!) and Rich and I cooled off and played with the littles for a good hour or so.

So, there's our trip to Gimli. You may wonder why I didn't just gloss over the ugly things about the trip and paint it all pretty. Well, b/c sometimes I get tired of glossing things over. Sometimes I just want to let the truth hang out and see what comes of it. We are not perfect people with perfect lives. We live with sin. And sin produces bad attitudes and sharp words and complaints and discontentment. Yet, it also lives alongside grace. And so our lives are filled with both. Sin and grace. Misery and joy. Ugliness and forgiveness. This is life. Not all flowers and cool breezes. Sometimes we're accosted by the hot blast of hell. And it isn't pretty. But then grace comes along - while we were yet sinners - and doesn't just cover up. No, it wipes clean. And it can only wipe clean b/c of the ugliest piece of history. Much more ugly than fish flies and intense heat and bad moods. Painful, torturous, undeserved death itself, to the only Innocent. And out of that ugliness our reconciliation with God Himself was birthed. So we can still smile. And find even more intense thankfulness amidst the turmoil that is life.