Well, it has begun. The first leg of our journey is underway and it has not been without its share of unforeseen circumstances already. The fare that we purchased for our airline tickets is called a missionary fare, and carries with it a baggage allowance of three checked bag (rather than the normal two). Considering that our team of seven is taking a grand total of 25 pieces of checked luggage, every bit counts.
Unfortunately, our domestic airline from Oklahoma City to Dallas chose not to honor the missionary fare and charged us for anything over two pieces of checked luggage. There was some consternation on my part during this exchange. I was prepared for this eventuality but I was holding out hope that our domestic carrier would do the right thing. Alas, they did not and my frustration began to mount.
Then I remembered one of the verses that I read in my quite time this morning. Philippians 4:6 says this: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. As I was meditating on this verse I remembered what our Senior Pastor, Marty Grubbs said in his sermon yesterday about living in the moment. It takes faith to live in the moment, to focus on the here and now and to trust that God will meet all of our needs.
All of this rapid introspection left me with two choices: I could choose to focus on the disappointment of having to pay the excess baggage fee, let it spoil my mood and generally be unpleasant to be around OR I could that God for providing the resources to meet the inconvenient need, be pleasant to the people who were just doing their job and realize that if this is the worst thing that happens on our trip then our trip will be an incredible experience. (In case you are wondering, I chose the latter option).
We all do it. We become so focused on a minor inconvenience, a perceived slight, an unintended wounding that we completely miss out on the bigger picture of what is going on around us. We are so wrapped up in ourselves that we miss the opportunity to be fully used by God as an instrument in his hand. Life can be hard and it is filled with disappointment. As followers of Christ, how we respond to life's difficulties and disappointments determines whether or not we are choosing to honor God with our lives.
Our team fully anticipates encountering unplanned obstacles and sudden changes in plans. Seriously, can you go on a mission trip to a developing nation and NOT experience these things? How we daily surrender our lives to Christ, choosing to pick up our cross and live for his glory will ultimately determine how fully we are used by God. As the Executive Director of the Water4 Foundation, Chris Cotner encouraged me: be like mercury, fluid.
Ready to go with the flow...
Soli Deo gloria,
Michael
3 comments:
thank you for letting the Holy Spirit led you to speak the words you spoke today about your inconvenient encounter. we must make choices when those situations arise as how we are going to respond. thank you for sharing your choice, a gracious and acceptable way for all of us to learn from. 'we' needed to hear this.
We are thanksful for the udpates! We are praying for each and every one of you as you travel from London to J'berg and on to Blantyre. We are praying for rest, strength, health, and that His light will shine through you to impact each person you come into contact with ...
Love,
Melissa, Dillon and Kathryn
I'd like to know what your consternation looked like during the exchange, can you be more descriptive?
:)
Praying for you guys!!
Post a Comment