Have you ever had a bad experiences ruin a trip? It is amazing how a well-placed engine repair or illness can seem to ruin an entire experience. The trips I have taken where trouble raised its ugly head have, too often, colored my perception of all subsequent events. I have had vacations where I have been exposed to some amazing sights, but the tire that blew out on the drive there left me too grouchy to enjoy them. I have had vacations with wonderful opportunities to enjoy my family but not getting my way on some trivial issue has left me too angry to engage with them.

God is working on me and I am learning to let go of my expectations and demands and be open to what he has for me instead, but it is not easy.  I pondered this yesterday in the morning quiet before the flurry of packing and loading began. A ten-day trip to Africa with all four kids is fertile ground for things to go wrong repeatedly and on numerous levels. When things go south will I be open to what God has for me or cling to what I want for myself? Oh how often I have stubbornly held onto my own desires and refused any of the blessings God has offered me instead. I did not want that to happen on this trip. I decided I needed a moment where I deliberately laid all my expectations and desires for this trip out before God and accept whatever he brought.

I must say that, as I am writing this, I am heartily thankful I did. It is five o’clock on Saturday morning and I have not slept a wink yet. Partially that is due to the impossibility of getting a comfortable sleeping position on a plane and it is also partially due to one of my youngest sons throwing up all over me, the floor, the bags and everything else in the general region. And we don’t reach our final destination for another thirteen and a half hours.

So, when I said I wanted to accept whatever God has for me on this trip I was really hoping that he had did NOT include vomit and an uncomfortable plane ride. But Romans 8:28 tells us that he works all things together for good, even vomit. As I sit here tired, uncomfortable and not particularly happy with my current situation, I am happy that this does not mean I will miss out on any of the positive experiences God still has lined up for us. He is good and I am still excited to see how he will use this trip to draw me and my family further into the fullness of what it means to know him. I must admit though, I am hoping he is done using the vomit…