Unplugged

When you start looking for God’s hand in your life you start seeing more and more places that have His fingerprints on it. A few weeks ago, my husband, Kirk, mentioned the possibility of extending an upcoming business trip of his to celebrate our anniversary. I liked the idea of going to Redondo Beach, California, but didn’t think too much about it actually working out. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Kirk tells me that he has the trip lined up and if we have places for the kids to stay, we could get my airline tickets and be ready to go. We were able to find some willing friends and the kids were all set. Cindy, being the sweet lady that she is, offered to take me to the airport. Everything was lining up nicely. Before I knew it, the day was here to get on my way. The morning was stress-filled as it can be when you’re trying to head out of town, but that’s a different story for another day! I got to the airport early and found a kiosk to plug in my technical gadgetry while I waited for the flight to depart. But lo and behold, I found I had left my laptop power cord at home! I started to get a little bummed, but then thought about God and how He had arranged this trip. Maybe, just maybe God wanted me to go on the trip “unplugged”. Besides, this trip was supposed to be about me and Kirk, not about my laptop and what I could find to do on it. And, thankfully, I had brought a couple of books with me. I figured it was God’s plan for me to read those as well while I had some time on the flight.

When I arrived in California, God had given us favor at the hotel and we had a beautiful room with a nice view of the ocean. Saturday we decided to take a bicycle ride on the strand. It took us a while to find the right bicycle for me, though. The first bike’s chain came off after heading out a short way. The second bike’s tire blew out while we were standing in the hotel. (We decided that obviously wasn’t the bike for me!) But the third bike apparently was the one, and we headed out for what turned into about a four hour ride in the sunny but cool California weather. All of this is to say that we had a wonderful time. And through it all I saw God’s hand upon the entire weekend. I knew that God was working behind the scenes on this trip, and He is working on your life too whether you see Him there or not. And I believe that if you look closely enough, even those things that seem to be inconveniences can be used by God for our good. For us, the inconvenience of the forgotten power cord kept me off of the computer and gave me more time to focus on the time with my husband. Because of our inconveniences with the bikes, the hotel gave us the bike rentals for free. There are just too many things to mention where God showed His favor. I came across this verse and it seemed appropriate for my trip and this upcoming Mother’s Day weekend as well.

Proverbs 18:22 – “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.”

This Mother’s Day, remember the mothers in your life and thank God for them, and then personally thank them for all they have done for you. And when you spend time with them, consider “unplugging” from those things that take your attention away so you can focus on what’s really important – the people in your life.