Flexibility

I’m generally an organized person. I may not write everything down, but I’ve always got a plan in my head.

I think that organizing is my way of maintaining control. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, actually for the most part I think it’s good to have a plan. But sometimes we have to do things that seem crazy or uncomfortable.

There have been several times we’ve done something crazy in a big way. (Like my husband quitting his job when I was 8 months pregnant with our second child. But that’s another story.)

Last weekend we weren’t exactly crazy, but it was definitely out of my comfort zone.

We took an 11+ hour trip with all 5 kids. It was certainly not the most convenient time for us to go to Florida since we have a 10 week old baby. It was not for a vacation, but it will be our only vacation for this year.

We went to Florida for our niece’s wedding. Our daughters were in the wedding.

I worried a lot before the trip.

• How will the baby do traveling?
• If he sleeps the whole way will he keep us up all night?
• What if he cries during the wedding and I miss the whole ceremony?
• What if he needs to eat during the wedding? Should I feed him there or will that be offensive?

The Lord could have used this trip to teach me patience. Everything could have gone wrong. I could have learned some humility because my children were misbehaved. I was prepared for everything to go wrong.

But it didn’t. In His goodness to me, everything went perfectly. Our trips were fine. The baby slept most of the time, but other than waking up an extra time the first night, was good. The wedding went perfectly. My flower girl didn’t actually drop the rose petals, but she was very good. The baby slept in his seat in the adjoining nursery during the ceremony. I fed him discreetly at the reception.

Yes, God could have taught me patience, but instead He taught me to trust Him and that His desire is for my good. I could have said, “No, that’s not a convenient time for us to come.” I think people would have understood. But I want my kids to place great value in family. When they are grown, I want them to remember what we did so Daddy could be with his sister at her daughter’s wedding.

And if we had stayed home, we would have missed this!