Ireland 2021 continued

Warning -- very long post with lots of photos and lots of words!! Friday was my day to do the devotion on the bus (see devotion at end of post if interested). We spent a lot of time on the bus today. We saw harbors and fields and lots of cows. We saw more rock walls that have been standing for years and years . . .with no mortar. The fields were so covered in rocks that in order to work the fields, they raked all of those rocks to the side . . .and built walls.

so many of our pictures were
taken through the bus windows --
isn't this view just perfect?

blurry rock wall (moving bus!)

spectacular - and the sun came
out and we practically cheered

We stopped at a huge limestone field on the water. Interesting because we have lots of limestone in Alabama, too.

on the limestone!

waves can be huge!!
up to 90 feet evidently!!

Remember Des, our tour guide? He made the connection today that Mark and I are from Alabama and he said that he had a story to tell us -- an Alabama love story. When Des was much younger he was in love with Emmie Lou Harris. She came to Ireland and stayed in a hotel where Des was working. He got to hang out with her and her people and he got a t-shirt (which he still has) and a record album. He enjoyed telling his story!!

We went to the Cliffs of Moher. Oh my goodness - beautiful and windy! I have somehow injured my back and down my leg (perhaps the new backpack?) but I was determined to get to the top and I did. One of the older ladies in our group has some side effects from long covid and she had found an employee to drive her to the top on a golf cart. I hopped on for the ride down the hill. Just in case you don't know this fun fact -- the cliffs of Moher were in The Princess Bride and Harry Potter!! Mark and I were hoping to see puffins but it is not the right season.

It is very interesting that private citizens own the land adjacent to the cliffs so right on the other side of the fence were the farmer's cows.

We stopped for a photo opp in the cutest village, Adare. The main street was lined with buildings with thatch roofs. There was a wedding in progree (outside due to covid) and we stopped to watch. They were leaving the wedding in a Rolls Royce. I saw a throw in the store in Adare and I should have purchased it. It would have looked beautiful in our family room. I never saw another one like it!!

can you see the little girl - middle left?
Do you think she was the
flower girl?

We then went to Ballingrane Methodist Church – Embury and Heck Memorial Methodist Church which was built in 1766!! Let me tell you that Derrick, the bus driver, should win an award for navigating the tiny lanes on the way to the church. We met Ruth, the pastor, and she was amazing. There was a tiny cemetery and the craziest tree growing outside. The inside needs much work but they continue to worship each Sunday. Gary led us in a bunch of hymns from their hymnal – there were no notes – just words. Philip Embury and Barbara Ruttle Heck are the ones who brought Methodism to New York. 

notice the bright paint colors!

Ruth - the pastor 

I love the details in this photo!

see the tree? what kind is it?

The pastors on the trip with Ruth -
back left to right
Dr. Brian White (Indiana), Bishop John Hopkins (Interim Bishop Illinois), Dr. Peggy Streiff (Ohio), Rev. Ruth Watt (Ireland!)
Front - left to right
Dr. Jim Skinner (Ohio I think), Rev. Gary Streiff (married to Peggy - ordained minister and also a minister of music - he led the singing on the trip)

This is the only picture I have of the whole
group.

On the way back, we got stopped by a bunch of cows being moved from one field to another to be milked. 

We are staying right on the street in Killarney at the Killarney Towers – it is the coolest hotel – I could imagine a murder mystery being set up in the hotel!! 

green Irish marble in the bathroom

doesn't this room look like
a murder mystery setting?

We walked around for a few minutes before dinner. My back is still killing me and I hobbled over to the pharmacy next door to hotel as soon as we arrived. The pharmacy had just closed but the pharmacist unlocked the door and sold me a hot pad and some Tylenol and then ushered me right out the door. Actually, they didn't have "real" tylenol - they had something different. I asked if they sold dramamine and they can't sell it at all!!

Everytime I've seen the name Murphy, I have thought
of my grandmother - Pearl Murphy. I'm going to
have to join one of those genealogy groups.

The food was excellent tonight. We finally had fish and chips. Mark had a banana dessert that looked amazing. 

Devotion:

When Peggy asked if one of us would give a devotion, I asked if there was a theme for the week – a possible scripture or word or thought. Peggy told me that she had been reading Celtic prayers and legends. I’m embarrassed to admit that I had NOT loaded Celtic prayers and legends onto my kindle . . . but I had just loaded 5 or 6 Irish mysteries and they were not exactly devotion material.

Let’s start with a few verses of scripture --Colossians chapter 3 – verses 12-14

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I want to ask you a few questions -- What did you pack for this trip? Did you pack shirts and pants and shoes? I hope we all packed clean socks and underwear. Let me see a show of hands – how many of you started packing two weeks before departure? One week before? How many packed on the night before we all left home?

May I tell you about our granddaughter, Emma’s packing skills. Emma is 5 years old and in kindergarten. The last three times she has spent the night with us, the strangest thing has happened.  When it came time for her bath, we would unzip her suitcase to get out her pajamas, toothbrush, and clean underwear. All three times, there was no underwear in the suitcase. I could tell that Emma had packed her own suitcase because there was always an odd assortment of clothing – maybe some shorts plus some sweatpants. One time there was even a furry vest in the suitcase along with several stuffed animals but no underwear. I wanted to applaud my son and daughter-in-law for teaching her to be independent but in the back of my mind I kept thinking, “why aren’t they helping her pack her suitcase?” After the third time, I found out something interesting. Before my daughter-in-law left for work on the day of the sleepover, she packed Emma’s suitcase and included underwear. Unbeknownst to them . . . Emma was emptying the suitcase and packing what she wanted. The mystery of the missing underwear was solved plus Gran bought underwear to keep at our house!

Mark and I started looking at the weather in Dublin, Galway, and Cork on weather.com several weeks ago. As our day of departure moved even closer, we could see more and more of the 10-day forecast in Ireland. Almost every day showed a 50% (ish) chance of rain, with a high of 59 degrees and a low of 51 or 52 degrees. I have a tendency to over pack according to my husband but I’m hot natured and I need options!! I prefer short sleeves and comfort. Both Mark and I probably spent way too much time deciding what to pack. We also spent too much money buying waterproof shoes and raincoats – BUT we believed weather.com and no one wants to spend the day in wet clothes or have wet feet.

 

I began to wonder if I had been spending too much time thinking about earthly clothes when I should have been thinking about putting on the clothes of Christ. Maybe I was a bit like Emma – maybe I wasn’t packing the right garments. I may have started packing a week before departure but I realized I had been packing the wrong items.

 

I read this in a devotion book – “God has another outfit he’d like you to take with you wherever you go. It’s perfectly suited to every climate, culture, and activity you may encounter on your trip. It’s also guaranteed to fit perfectly, even if you overindulge a bit at the breakfast buffet. It is always flattering on you – so much so that other people are bound to notice. It never wears out, gets soiled, or goes out of style.” That outfit sounds like the kind of clothes we need to pack for a trip.

 

Our scripture reminds us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. These qualities will enable us to be fully dressed for the day. When we wear the clothing of Christ, we are more beautiful inside and out. When we travel in a group, we need these lovely garments.

 

On one of my previous trips, I gave in and bought a luggage scale because I kept adding things to my suitcase. Instead of adding things, perhaps I needed to remove some things in order for the suitcase to close and to weigh under 50 pounds.

 

When we travel, we step away from our norm.  We see not only beautiful scenery and lots of new things; we also have time to see things inside of us. We have time to take a breath and re-check our suitcases. Maybe like Emma unpacks her suitcase, we need to unpack a few things, too. Do we need to remove pride? Maybe some of us need to remove selfishness? Do we need to leave insecurity and entitlement behind? The removal of some of those items may hurt but I think our suitcase might weigh a little less. 

 

What is in our suitcases right now? What will we wear the rest of the week? Will we clothe ourselves with the beautiful garments of Jesus? Do we need to do some re-packing using the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

Let’s pray together.