Fasten your seatbelts...we are experiencing some turbulance!

It is amazing how things can totally change in a few days time.

Sometimes it feels we are all in a big pot of stew and there is an automatic spoon that slowly comes by to mix everything together. In order for the stew to be its best this needs to happen. It needs to get stirred. We don't like being anywhere in the vicinity of that spoon so we get as far out of the way as we can when we see it coming. We might go so far as to take a jet ski to propel us out of the area. Even so we still feel the ripple effects of that stew being stirred. Now and then, however, we are so busy bobbing along that the spoon comes by and we are right in its course. We are taken under so deeply and tossed around so much that it begins to feel more like we are in a blender with no lid. In those times we need something to hang on to for dear life. A checkbook will do little for you when you can't see your hand in front of your face. Family members and friends might be stirred right along with you...or maybe they've taken that jet ski to what they feel is safety. No, in those times the one and only thing that will provide any real security is knowing that you are hanging on to the one who has made the recipe and is in charge of all the stirring.

In the past few days the world of many people involved in this trip have turned upside down. We joke about not making plans but in reality we as humans can make all the plans in the world...we can be organized...it can all make sense...it can all feel right.

          In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

It makes us feel secure to feel like we are in control. We often go to great lengths to make that happen. I have found, however, that there is so much more security in allowing God all the control. He has it anyway. Why not give up what we never really have in order to truly be free of that weight?

There is a beautiful song, Blessings, by Laura's Story that comes to mind:

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?


Many people have witnessed God's presence and comfort in the events that have happened in the last few days. Our plan looks different than it did a week ago. Lives look different than they did a week ago. There has been tears shed amidst pain and fear, but God's comfort is bigger than all of it.

As I write this I do not know what will happen past tomorrow, let alone what we will experience on this trip and with who we will be experiencing it with. But that's okay. I never really knew anyway. I know that things will all be okay- not because I am sure the worst won't happen but because even if the worst happens...I know a really great cook.