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Airline Mishap

John 16:33 (AMP) I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]

I just spent the week traveling with my husband. We celebrated our 25h anniversary with a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. We had not had such a smooth traveling experience in such a long time. Usually, TSA takes a very long time. This line we were in just kept moving. Then when we were looking for our gate, it was right in front of us as we exited TSA. All flights were on time. Coming and going we had connecting flights, and out pilot had to divert the route a little to go around a storm on the way there. It was amazing. When we got to the room, it was perfect. We even had a beautiful view of the Las Vegas Strip.

As we were unpacking our bags is when we hit a little snag in our trip. All of my husband toiletry bags were not in his suitcase. Did I forget to pack them? They were the last things that I remember putting in his bags before we left, but did I really do that? It was his deodorant, his colognes, his toothbrush and toothpaste, his hair product, our sunscreen and all of our medications. Did I leave then at home (did the perimenopause brain make an oops)? A frantic call to our youngest son, who I knew would be sleeping in our bed, and he did not see them. I did not leave them in the bathroom. I remembered packing them. So where were they? Our bags had been opened after we checked them in Atlanta. All we can think is they saw something in one of those bags and wanted them.

Our next step was to call the airline right away and tell them what happened. I was exhausted at that point. My brain was in overdrive from keeping up with everything for the trip and then I was going to have to explain to someone in my deep southern accent (because that is how I talk when I am either excited or exhausted) what happened. Thankfully, my husband took over and handled that part. My husband looked at me and said, we are not going to let this ruin our trip. We went to sleep.

The next day I made a call to family medicine group back home; the nurse was able to send the request to a pharmacy close to where we were staying. Great, we can pick it up after some time sight-seeing. It was not ready. Another two hour wait in Target, exhausted, and trying to hold it together as my husband’s head is throbbing. The last thing our seventeen-year-old said was, “don’t bring back another one of me.” So, I really needed to be my birth control filled, even if I had to pay extra, which I let them know.

James 1:2-4 (AMP) Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.

The trip was amazing! We explored and went on tours. We got to see the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam (even the inside). It was a trip that we will be talking about for years. We are foodies and there were too many places and not big enough stomachs. We spoke each other’s love languages and just enjoyed being with each other. We have become the best of friends over the years and that is all because we have allowed each other to grow. Everything we lost could be replaced. None of this would have happed without learning to find the joy, to allow peace to be what we hold onto, and nothing is worth getting angry about. It was not always like that. It is possible though. It was not getting each other to change; it was about each of us deciding to submit to the One who makes the change. We grow at different speeds and that is okay. The airline denied all responsibility, what can you do? We are responsible for how we respond. We count it all joy. We are not lacking in anything. That is my prayer for you too.

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Say “Yes” to the Adventure

Today on my Facebook Memories I came across an album titled “St. George Island Camping Trip.” This was a trip that a very dear friend of mine, who I can say is one of my best friends, did together with our two boys (since then she has added a few more to her family). We were two boy moms who decided to take our boys camping at the beach. We had never done this before on our own and we were going to do this together. All six of us packed up my minivan and headed to Florida.

I had grown up camping with my parents going to St. Andrews every summer growing up. I wanted to share this experience with my kids. My husband grew up on the mission field in Belize, camping was not a fun adventure idea for him (still isn’t, but is open to buying an RV).

This trip did not go 100% perfect. We struggled to get the canopy tent up on the beach (a good Samaritan came and helped us struggling mamas). The camp site had so much vegetation that mosquitoes were awful and on top of that my van got infested with sand fleas. Oh and I got sick in the middle of the night from the dinner we ate! However, we stayed positive…because we were on an adventure!!

I have been on many other trips without my family since then. I stepped out and went to some Women’s Conferences without anyone else from my church joining me. I started going out and sitting in restaurants by myself to enjoy a meal.

I have visited other cities with other women in ministry. On one such trip we went to Las Vegas. It was the Retreat for Leading and Loving It. A couple of the women and I got brave enough to go to the top of the Stratosphere and get on the rides. Yep I did that one!

Here is the thing though, there is more to life than just these kinds of adventures. There are adventures that God wants to take us on as well. It just happens that all of these experiences I had was because of the relationships I made from saying “Yes” to God. I got out of my comfort zone, because to be honest, I have to fight my introvert tendencies. You know the ones where the voice inside of your head makes excuses as to why you cannot step out into “ministry.” The “I don’t have enough money” excuse. Or how about the “I don’t have enough time” excuse. My all time favorite, “I am too young/old” excuse.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you do.”

Stop trying to figure things out on your own. If He put a desire in your heart to do it, then do it…just don’t let it be the pizza talking. How do you know you heard from God in this adventure? Does it line up with His character and nature? How will you know His character and nature? By reading the Word that He gave us.

Stop trying to figure things out on your own.

In the time that the Israelites were in the Wilderness, Moses sent twelve spies into the land that God told them would be their inheritance. Ten of those spies came back with a negative report, but two did not. The two that did not were Joshua and Caleb. They were the only two from that generation to enter into the Promised Land.

Joshua 14:7-12 “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, say, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on that day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for was, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

That mountain was Caleb’s inheritance because ‘he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel’ (Joshua 14:9). God wants us to actively pursue Him and what He wants us to have. As His follower’s we should boldly say, “Give me my mountain!” when it comes to pursuing the vision that God has given us for our lives. Mountains are not easy to climb, depending on how high it goes, you might have to adjust for the climate change. This could even mean getting out of your comfort zones and entering into other cultures you have never known before.

Hey, if you get some bumps in the process, do not be discouraged. You are on an adventure!