Last Updated on October 21, 2020 by Stacy Averette
Many moons ago Eric and I took our first and only cruise (so far) to the Western Caribbean. The small ship we were on left New Orleans and for eight days we celebrated a graduation and an anniversary with food and sunshine and food and food. That midnight buffet!! Goodness.A day in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica left us both wanting more of one thing–Grand Cayman. Wow! What a beautiful place.
Fast forward 24 years. . .
We look exactly the same!!
Late last year a friend called to say he had bought a home on Grand Cayman and wanted to share. WooHoo! We checked our calendars and set a date. For once in my life I was happy to see swimsuits on sale in February! Don’t hate. It was bittersweet. I shaved my legs and tried to use self-tanner to soften the harsh blow. Didn’t help. Didn’t care. I was going to a tropical island in February. Woohoo!
Look how happy sunshine and palm trees and sand make me!
We drove to Nashville and met our friends and another couple. When we left Nashville in was 19°. We stepped off the plane in Grand Cayman to 85°. Winter makes you forget how blue the sky can be.
The biggest decision I had to make everyday was whether to put my swimsuit on before or after my late breakfast and coffee by the pool. 
There was some sailing, kayaking, swimming, and lots of eating.
Lest you think this trip was nothing more than a vacation (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) let me share a few extraordinary moments:
1. We attended FBC Grand Cayman on Sunday and learned of the Keswick Services (community revival) taking place that week. We attended several nights. The takeaway: God brought me all the way from Alabama by way of Nashville and Miami to Grand Cayman to hear a guest pastor from the UK preach a sermon that revealed the final chapter of my book. I’ve struggled for weeks with that question! (Yes, I’m STILL writing a book.)
2. We made some new friends. We had met the other couple once before but only briefly. She and I discovered that we both have a love for cooking, thrift stores and family. The takeaway: I was close by when she got word that her only son is scheduled to be deployed in a few months. I’ll never forget those moments, her tears, and the faith she expressed.
3. We know the sun rises and sets every day. Most of us don’t think much about it. But I’m married to man who LOVES to see—no experience–the sunrise. Every morning I’d feel him slip out of bed while it was still dark in order to say, “Good morning” to the Creator of the sunrise. The takeaway: One morning I managed to get up with him. We slipped outside with coffee in hand. Together we saw this.
Glad he had his iPhone. A-mazing. He’s also pretty fond of sunsets.
Our only real plans for the week were to fly back to Nashville on Wednesday. Snow and ice blanketed the Music City cancelling most incoming flights that week. Three extra days in paradise . . I’ll take it.
As wonderful as Skype is . . .
It’s not even close to this . . 
Glad to be home. Thankful for friends and tropical islands and an extraordinary God!
P.S. I read a few great books this week, too. I’ll share those later.
So if you could escape for a week during the winter where would you go?