Our little experiment is over and it is time to tally the results. First a travelogue for Monday and Tuesday.
Monday
When I left you last on Tuesday, we had not finished or described our trip home. I will rectify that today. We left Mississippi Monday morning about 8:00 AM and drove 400 miles to Goodlettsville, Tennessee. We cruised smoothly all the way with only a very slight slow down in Nashville.
We stopped after the first two hours and I walked a bit. I walked the second time less than two hours later and the third time about an hour or so after that. I was trying to prevent my legs from hurting like they did after we made the trip south.
It kind of worked and kind of did not. When we stopped at Goodlettsville, I was beat and my thighs were hurting. I did get a very good night of rest. After about 320 miles home on Tuesday, I was tired, but no pain in my legs. I had also walked intermittently Tuesday as well.
Tuesday
We did not leave Goodlettsville until about 11:00 AM Tuesday and we only drove two hours on the first leg. It was only a very few miles out of the way to swing by Hodgenville, Kentucky. I will tell you about that on Friday.
When we left Hodgenville, we drove one hour and then stopped at a rest area so I could walk. We drove another hour or so to a truck stop where we often stop and I did some walking there. An hour later and we were home sweet home.
Lessons Learned From Our Experiment
First, let us look at the travel portion. In my opinion, it is the distance traveled each day that hurts me rather than the accumulation of miles over two days. Both days of extreme fatigue and pain that I experienced, came at the end of 400 mile days.
On the way south, we traveled 413 miles the second day. Driving north, we traveled 400 miles the first day. The 300-350 mile days treated me much better.
More days of travel will either prove or disprove my hypothesis, but that is what I am believing and going by for now. Also, driving the BoggsMobile will probably produce different results. My mind and body are a lot more tense when driving the bus.
We have tried to stay at about 550 mile days in the bus, maximum. That may have to be adjusted when we finally get back on the road. For now, we are guessing that we need to adjust our travel schedule and expectations going forward, at least for the short term.
What about the singing and preaching portion of our experiment? Well, I sang in four services and preached in five services in eight days. I preached twice each Sunday and once on Wednesday. With rest and caution and gentleness, we believe that I can do that while using the oxygen machine.
I also learned that I probably can not sing and preach night after night yet. After church each night I would settle into the recliner in the evangelist quarters. I would tell KJo that I was so happy I did not have to preach the next night.
That is definitely not normal for me. The "want to" is in me. Yes, the "want to" is in me bad, bad, bad. But the truth is the truth. If I were to strike up revivals now, I would either be embarrassed or begin to lose ground again physically or both.
Of course, a miracle could change all of that in twinkling of an eye and we continue to be open and ready for that each and every moment. IF God continues to restore me to strength in a gradual manner, then I am going to need a little more time.
I am expressing that to Pastors where we are committed the next 60 days and so far, everyone has been completely gracious and understanding. I think most people know how much I want to go, go, go and that I would be there IF I could.
Overall we calculate the experiment as a success and we are thankful for the knowledge gained. Thank you for going along with us.
Davy
