Praise the Lord for Free Day!

So as posted, yesterday was my "free day". Yes, i am entitled to only one "free day" a month, but compared to my time on NET, this is a luxury ;) Our "days of no obligation" on the road were never such. There was always someone to oblige to. The Sisters, on the other hand, really don't care if they see me 'til 8pm. And even then I can call to come back later.

Anyways, so I thought my day was going to entail going to Six Flags with my sister Janet. I totally and fully believed this. I thought this was all the day had in store, with the possibility of going to dinner with the postulants afterwards. I even invited my other friends and sisters to the park! And I had called/emailed with Janet all about the day in detail.

So I was truly, truly suprised when I see my sister and my COUSIN Lauren talking to Sr. Caritas and Emily and Alina when I step outside Sunday morning! My cousin had come down for the weekend since she had 10 days off of work! I was so suprised, but this was only the beginning since I now had no idea what the day had in store.

As soon as I get in the car and close the door, they say to me, "um, yeah. We're not really going to Six Flags." They began to allude to being 21 and having to have id as well as "live entertainment". I started to get a little nervous. While I had to appreciate them wanting to allow me to have some "fun" on my free day, the Lord had already proven to me that I could have fun in little ways and not have to have such requirements for fun. So I would've been content with whatever they had in store, but they did have my best interest in mind. Though I was beginning to question as we continued to drive without knowing where we were going!

But as we pulled further and further away from civilization, it began to come together for me. "Are we going winetasting?" I said and began to clap my hands as this is one of my favorite ways to spend a day. They were a little discouraged that I had figured them out, but we all agreed that this was the best way to spend the free day.

While I will still say that VA has the better scenery, MO sported some nice views and I will give MO a nod for having FREE tastings. We made friends with most of our servers that day at 3 different wineries, but I think our favorite was Montelle because they gave us 20 wines to taste for free (though they do charge you an extra $3.00 to drink outside on their terrace, which I suppose is how they get you).

So we spent the day chatting and drinking and taking in the MO countryside. Then it was time for dinner. We called the other postulants up as promised to meet us. I only wish the Mexican food we devoured were as tasty as the wine- it was not. And the day ended with a slightly sour note because after consuming wine since 11am and such less than par food, that's what my stomach became, sadly.

But I was glad to share my two worlds with two of my favorite people- Janet and Lauren. And I am grateful for the thought they put into planning that day! And I'm grateful to the Lord for giving me such beautiful people to spend the days with, and for Him showing me there are many ways to enjoy His creations :)

Thanks again for reading!
peace,
Julia