Do you know the frustration of an unmet goal? What about the frustration of thwarted plans?
My seventeen-year-old son and I have been a wonderful road trip out west recently. We drove from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Tucson, Arizona, over several days. Not for the first time, I was driving with family around this part of the world during a government shut down—the last time was 12 years ago when we took a family trip to the Grand Canyon.
One of the things we experienced both in 2013 and on our recent trip was the closure of some of the places we would have like to have visited. So, we had to release our expectations and lean into a sense of adventure and discovery.
Twelve years ago, it made me fairly miserable for part of our trip. We had to take an extra long drive to visit the Grand Canyon at a non-government run location. The shutdown also meant re-routing from our plans to go to Carlsbad Caverns. I have to admit, there were several days of that trip where I was not a happy camper.
This time around, our pivot looked more like an open-handed adventure, watching for the way God would provide.
When we were nearing Tucson with a few hours to kill before meeting my husband at the airport, Jackson and I wanted to go hike at the Saguaro National Park. Sadly, the park was closed as part of the shutdown. So, we had to let that mini-goal go.
But God honored our release of those plans. When we got to our final destination, we were delighted to discover we were staying in a hotel nestled in hills filled with saguaro cacti. There were also hiking trails through this breathtaking landscape—just like there would have been at the national park that was closed. These trails were available to us for the several days of our stay, and the closed park would have been just a quick hike before having to get to the airport.
Lesson: hold your plans loosely and release things to the Lord. He will often bless with more than you can imagine. He is a God of abundance.
I know that maybe doesn’t sound like much—one set of cacti instead of another. In the overall scheme of things the closed national park wasn’t a deal breaker. But as I think about it, and also about our somewhat thwarted family trip in 2013, I recognize a principle at work.
There is a danger in holding on too tightly to our plans and our expectations. If we do that, we can miss out on the even better blessing God has for us.
On our 2013 trip to the Grand Canyon, we had to let go of some plans. I have to admit, I was pretty angry about that shutdown, and frustrated at not getting to do quite a few things we had intended. But as God provided other options and unexpected experiences, I was able to come to a place of joy instead of frustration.
On this trip, we didn’t have specific, set plans other than knowing where our different hotels were. Jackson and I approached each day a little bit like a scavenger hunt, just chasing beauty in the landscapes we drove through, looking for new things, and enjoying one another’s company, and enjoying worshiping God together in the goodness of His creation.
Having less of an agenda and trying to be open to what God would put before us each day has been a good move. As I type this, I am sitting in the Phoenix airport waiting to fly to Atlanta. Our original itinerary had us flying out of Tucson yesterday afternoon arriving home by midnight. Delays caused that agenda to go out the window. We rented a car, drove to Phoenix, spent the night. We are waiting to fly to Atlanta where we have a rental car reserved for a drive back to Birmingham. Apparently there are no seats for flights into Birmingham on this particular day.
It’s a lot extra. I cannot control any of it. Yet, I have been at peace with all the pivoting.
Maybe the twelve years in between trips have yielded a little more spiritual maturity in me. Only God can change the heart of a planner like me. I am grateful for His faithful patience with my heart. I am thankful He is committed to growing us into more trust and joy in Him.
How about you? Do you have a tight grip on your plans and expectations? Or can you hold things loosely and look to our wonderful God to provide all you need? Have you experienced the deep peace of releasing things to His kind care?
I’ll leave you with a blessing derived from Proverbs 3:5-6 and Proverbs 16:9 that seem to go along with the things I’ve been mulling over from our two out-West, government shut down trips…
May you trust in the Lord with all your heart, and not rely on your own understanding, so that you may know Him in all your ways and enjoy walking on His straight paths.
May you recall that you may make plans in your own heart, but that God will direct your steps, and He is a good and faithful Father.
May you always experience more of Him!