Dubai Day Five (and an addendum to Day Four)

Something happened on our way back from Motiongate to the hotel that I want to write about, mainly because I want to remember, but also because it was just so remarkable to me, and perhaps it will spark something in you as well...

We took a taxi back from the park, and Brother had asked to sit up front next to the driver (don't judge me. It's legal there. And if you're too focused on judging me for letting my seven year old sit in the front seat, you'll miss the point of what I'm sharing here) and my mother in law, daughter and I were sitting in the middle row, and David and his dad were in the back row. As we rode, we talked about how great our day had been. We each took a turn saying what our favorite part of the day was, our least favorite, some sort of "bonus" part of the day, and something we did well that day.

Everybody had tons of "favorites", which was really fun to listen to. Someone would say "my favorite part was this part of our day..." and several other family members who had already gone would jump in "oh yeah!! That was one of my favorite parts too!!" 

Our taxi driver remained silent through all of this hubbub, but that was unremarkable as we were clearly deep in a family bonding experience.

Then when we arrived at the hotel, as we exited the taxi and entered the lobby, Brother said "Momma? Did you get the feeling that our taxi driver was really sad?"

"What do you mean, honey?" I inquired

"I just got the feeling that he was really sad. Sad about his family..." he said solemnly.

My mother in law looked surprised as she added "I felt that too! I had this feeling that he was really missing his family."

Now. You can chalk this up to any number of things, including random chance.

You can title it as "the universe"  or certain spirits or an ethereal deep hum that connects us all via Mother Earth.

Personally, I believe it is the result of a spirit, a Holy one. 

I believe my mother in law and my son were tuned into the Holy Spirit in that moment, and He was granting them insight and understanding into this man's life and heart, and encouraging them to lift him up in prayer. 

I believe with all my heart that God is real.

I believe in the power of prayer.

I also believe that He speaks to us in a myriad of different ways, and one of those ways is by the Holy Spirit whispering to our heart.

In the Bible it says that John the Baptist had a measure of the Holy Spirit from a young age, and I've prayed the same for my children since they were in my womb. 

It is my greatest prayer request that my children grow to know the love of Jesus. More than success, health, and happiness, I pray that they meet Him.


When my son shared this with us, we all decided to stop and pray for that man. We prayed that he would feel encouraged, and that he would know he was not alone. We prayed for healing or protection for his family, that God would meet whatever need was there. 

I'm so thankful my son spoke up about what he was feeling, and that we were able to lift our driver up in prayer and I still pray he feels encouraged and hopeful, knowing he is not alone. 


*****


Later that night we showered and got all settled into our jammies, and Dave's parents came down to our room for us all to hang out and chat about our day. 

Two cuties ready to enjoy the Toothless lollipops their grandparents got them!

My goofy girl...

After the lollipops were licked, while Brother was watching cartoons and the grown ups were chatting away, Sister tucked herself and her new lovie in, closed her eyes, and was OUT... 

We all slept pretty soundly that night ;)



The next day we had to check-out at noon, and head directly to the airport. 

After breakfast, where we may or may not have unabashedly consumed copious amounts of bacon, David and his dad took the kids swimming...

I got our room all packed up, we shed silent tears as we said goodbye to our lovely hotel, and soon we were at the airport...

Again, we ooohhhhed and aaahhhhed at how shiny and sparkly the Dubai airport is...

 Dave had a few dirhams left in his wallet, so he went to enjoy a final beer before we headed off to the land of no beer Kuwait...

The grandparents had a flight leaving shortly after ours, so we were in a separate terminal waiting to board. 
The kids played some mini connect four...

Our plane sat on the runway for sweet forever, but we didn't mind all that much since we were on a fancy plane again, and all had our own entertainment...

...not to mention our hearts were full of fun memories from the past few days =).

It felt like one of the fastest vacations we have ever taken, and all of us agreed we wished we could have had more time in Dubai. There was so much more we wanted to see! But, it's not the cheapest place to visit, and David's spring break was coming to an end, so it was the right time to head back.

I'm so glad we ended up making it to Dubai after all. It would have been a shame to have spent all this time in the Middle East and not see and experience all that we did during those five days! 
Memories to last a lifetime.