I got up before the clan this morning so I could tidy up the house and go for a run, much like my life back home. I kept doing just one last thing, one last thing, finally I put my hair back in a pony and donned my running gear. I open the door and a heavy rain pours down. Not again, the same thing happened to me yesterday. I had big aspirations to run up that gravel road that disappears into the sky. I am overcome with disappointment.
I have made plans for a great hike today that is only a short drive from our home. I make a hearty breakfast of eggs, potatoes, onions, bacon and cheese on toast. And the rain comes down. A full day of climbing is going to be great for the lungs and legs. Dennis cleans the kitchen while I pack the backpack with water, sandwiches, energy gels and bars. And the rain comes down. I’m sure it will clear up soon. God knows we have limited time in Switzerland and we have several hikes that we want to take. I glance through a guide book of the area for indoor fun. And the rain comes down. We tell the kids to get in the car, neither one of us admitting to the other that this hiking thing is not going to work out. I start to unravel at thoughts of disappointing the girls with no alternative plan. Who am I kidding? I am bummed for myself. I can’t spend another day inside. What will I blog about? Dennis pours over his ten year old Swiss book while I scan the websites on museums in the area. Nothing looks like anything our family would enjoy.
We get in the car and the famous question that we are faced with every day comes, “So guys, what are we doing today?” I want to burst into tears. I tell Dennis to wait before putting the car into drive and we read the devotion that Mary G. sends to us every day. The very first sentence Dennis reads cuts to my core.
What goal should be our focal point each day?
Jesus is calling…
SEEK TO PLEASE ME above all else. Let that goal be your focal point as you go through this day. Such a mind-set will protect you from scattering your energies to the winds.
Woops, that’s what I’ve been doing all morning, scattering my energies to the winds…..or the rains. I have been wasting my time worrying about something that I have no control over. We pray. I take a deep breath and ask the girls if they would like to go to town and get some hot chocolate and come back home for Scrabble. Cheers bellow from the backseat. Dennis and I look at each other with raised eyebrows and share the thought of, “Why do we make things so complicated?”
Without God I am an unraveled mess, with Him my days are like a pretty wrapped package with a bow on top. Who doesn’t like presents?
Dennis and I scoot around the store while the girls opted to stay in the car. We feel like we’re on a mini date in the middle of the morning. Our eyes linger on the pastries that we contemplate getting to accompany the cocoa. We giggle at the thought of how surprised the girls will be. We try to decide between two different kinds and decide on both! These are delights that we wouldn’t be caught dead with in our grocery cart back home. We feel like such rebels.
Once home I begin to prepare the settings for the cocoa and Scrabble party for the girls and their dad while Raleigh and I steal away for some story time.The girls squeal in delight at their treats. I lie there listening to the screeches of laughter from the girls and their Daddy and I thank God for His plan for our day.
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