Ever had one of those days when you lose perspective? When you get frustrated because things didn’t go exactly as you had hoped and planned?
Me too! I know I’m not alone in this. Help me out here!
That was the last couple of weeks for me. When we first chose this lifestyle of living, working, and schooling on the road, I envisioned road trips with windows rolled down, wind blowing through my hair, while singing along to great music…you know…like Bon Jovi and stuff!
Well, I tried! I was soon reminded of why I love ponytails! My curls were EVERY. WHERE. My eyes had watered most of my makeup off my face, and my allergies hit me so hard, I could barely breathe!
Scary…I know! As I tried to catch my breath from my wind blown experience, I was reminded why I don’t like to plan. It seems like every time I try to plan something out, things get changed. We hit a speed bump of some kind….every time!
We had planned to hit the road again on February 1st. We finally pulled out of my hometown of San Angelo, TX (where we have spent the last couple of months) yesterday afternoon at about 4:30 pm. That late in the day is not your ideal time to be starting a roadtrip, especially with a 42′ 5th wheel in tow and a ton of road work on the beaten down highways. We had been delayed on our departure over the last couple of weeks several times for different reasons including our oldest daughter’s hospitalization. (Praise God we were still there when that happened!) We also had a little truck trouble. We thought it was fixed when we left town yesterday, but about an hour and half into our trip, we were pulled over on the side of the road in the dark, with flashlights, looking under the truck, wondering if we were going to make it any further. We finally made it to Monahans Sandhills State Park in the pitch dark. It’s a good thing we have gotten a lot of practice at this rigging up thing!
In the midst of all of the frustrations of the day, as we finished rigging up, I had a BAD attitude toward everything. I had lost perspective. I had temporarily forgotten why I LOVE living life as we do…traveling, home schooling, working, being together…our adventures!
Then, I looked up. The stars out here…there are so many of them! In that moment, God spoke to my heart. He said, “I know you wanted to be in the Hill Country this week. I know you didn’t expect to have truck trouble. I know this is not your idea of a great time, being back here. I know this isn’t what you envisioned. But, this is my plan for you right now. Paul has work lined up here. I am providing for you. And really…is this really so bad? Look at the stars. I made every one of them and hung them in the sky. I know you feel a little wind blown right now, but I have placed you where you are for this time. Rest in Me. I will lead you to your next destination when it’s time.”
Here’s my point…
Life isn’t like it appears in the movies. Life isn’t even like it appears on Facebook. Sometimes we try so hard to enjoy life. We plan every detail. We style every hair into its place. We map out every rest stop along our journey. We bump into an old friend and act like we’ve got it all together…maybe we do, maybe we don’t. Then, a day comes when we get wind blown. We all have bad days when nothing seems to go our way! All of our careful planning gets flipped upside down and blown over the fence. (If you’ve experienced a West Texas dust storm, you know what I’m talking about!) How we respond to these storms is all about our perspective and where we place our trust.
It’s in these times that God reminds us that He is the director of our paths. We don’t have to try so hard. Our job is simply to let go and TRUST HIM. It’s not our job to understand everything. We just have to acknowledge that He is in control of every detail of our lives, and He will set us on a straight path for His purposes and glory.
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