Robert Whiting
In search of awesome
Keeping track of the days is difficult, so I’m taking short notes in Google Keep so I have the days events roughly captured. My day began at 2-3am, cuddling with my jet-lagged kids, trying to soothe them back to sleep. We did end up going back to bed for an hour or two, before beginning our “zoo day.”
Travel is amazing, exhausting, and full of stressfully memorable moments. So much has happened already that I want to capture a few of the memories before they disappear in tomorrow’s events.
It’s been 7 weeks and 3 days since our two younger kids sat in a court room in Taiwan and told the judge that they want to come to America, be with their parents, and play with their older brothers. A month before that, we were packing our bags to pick them up.
People like to ask me how I’m doing, and it’s complex, ever changing, and emotional answer. Today, I started crying during a meeting at work, so I’m definitely overdue for writing out my thoughts.
It’s no secret that I love to study the Bible. My children and wife regularly find themselves listening to the definition of a Hebrew word and how it illuminates and connects scripture. At work, I lead the local site employee Christian group. In my church, I ask questions at board meetings to press the church toward scriptural alignment. In my life group, those who gather look to me as a trusted voice when we struggle through difficult biblical passages ever onward toward Jesus. I have taken to heart the psalmist’s plea to meditate day and night on the instruction of Yahweh (Psalm 1:2) and Jesus’ prayer that we take hold of eternal life: knowing Yahweh (John 17:3).
I’ve been practicing and playing guitar quite a bit over the last year (one my covid hobbies), and I’ve been buying more equipment than is necessary for my ability level (quite low). When I travel to Taiwan later this year to pick up my kids, I want to bring a guitar with me, but space is limited. I found a $550 travel guitar, but instead, I decided to build my own by sawing up a $35 electric guitar I found on craigslist.
Here’s how I did it…