Wind

Catherine took an unexpected morning nap on the way to Sea World and upon arrival at the gas station we found she had had an accident. Jennifer took her to the restroom to wash out her clothes while William and I stayed to fill up the car. When they came out, Catherine was covered in her tunic alone and clean, and mom had her soaking wet shorts and panties in hand. We had no change of clothes, only a bathing suit, so we secured the shorts on the outside of one rolled up window, the panties on the other and the wind would have to work fast to dry them... and we were off....on the freeway. Sometimes you just have to work with what you've got and as Jennifer said, "we'll just figure it out". By the time we got there, the clothes were only a little damp but surely wearable and with it being as hot as it was, they probably felt pretty good. Catherine was non phased by this whole interruption. For in her eyes, she was being cared for, was confortable we were off to see Shamu.

We are faced with unexpected surprises all through our life. Some are little manageable like ones like these while others nearly knock us off our feet. But with God by our side he will help us to "just figure stuff out". We can either go into a situation with confidence that it will work out according to God's purposes, or go into it in fear of what the outcome will eventually be and a bag of overflowing questions that cannot be answered because no one else is sure of the answers either.

2 Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Jennifer and I were in total hysterics as we bolted down the highway, panties and shorts flying as if banners of victory. When we allow God to interact in our decisions, and in our surprises, we too will have flying banners of peace flying through our minds. We can plan with all our might what we want to happen and how we want things to work out, but all too often those plans are interrupted and we are forced to make accommodations with the tools that we already have in place.

I know you can envision those tiny little white denim shorts stuck in a rolled up window and blowing in the wind. It truly is the wind that has to blow through them to dry them. It is the wind of the Holy Spirit that we have to allow to blow through us to get rid of the soggy fear and anxiousness that weighs us down.

But we have to be willing to be secured by the grip of faith that God has offered to us.

Dear Lord, Oh how we are touched by surprises....some of joy, some of trials, some of discomfort, some of grief....help us to overcome the
fears that plague us and the anxiousness that grips us through the winds of your Holy Spirit.
Amen

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Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!