Good, Good Father

In March we were gifted with the opportunity to spend a week in Naples, Florida for spring break. The first morning we were there I got up early and went down to the pool. As I sat, enjoying the warm breeze and the ambiance created by the gently waiving palm branches, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness. Here I was sitting poolside at a beautiful resort in Naples, preparing to take my family for a day of fun at the beach. How does that even work? The trip was not the result of our hard work, good budgeting or a windfall of money. It was simply a gift from a loving heavenly father. Right then I realized that I have too often focused on the more challenging aspects (van down by the river!) of what God has asked our family to do, and completely missed the amazing things that he has allowed us to do. Here are some of the things I was reminded of:

• We have been allowed to go on more, and better, family vacations than all of our previous life combined.
• Jenny was given the opportunity to spend 10 life-changing days in Scotland.
• Jenny and I have been able to be together all day, every day. Something that we have always dreamed of (we REALLY like each other).
• We have time. We no longer feel like we are in a rat race.
• We have had the opportunity to truly know our children.
• Our children have had amazing opportunities to discover their passion, purpose and what they were placed on the earth to do.
• Our children are part of a highly rated education system.
• We learned that God is ALL that is needed.
• We learned that God pays bills and provides housing and transportation.
• We learned to stop relying on our own gifts and abilities and to simply trust.
• We have been allowed to minister to tens of thousands of people, in over 40 countries, through our blog.
• We have developed some of the most rewarding relationships with world changing people.
• We have discovered who we are, not just what we can do.

As I reflected on these things, the more challenging parts of the adventure faded away and I realized that all of my fear and anxiety, over what God asked us to do, was a waste of time. He really does have our best in mind and he really can be trusted.

If God has spoken some crazy things to you or given you a vision that seems impossible, I want to encourage you. He has your best interests in mind. You may be tempted to disregard the seemingly crazy directives, or strip the vision down to a more humanly manageable plan, but doing so will rob you of the good that God has planned for you. He really is a good, good father and he really does want to take you on an amazing journey.

Don’t lose courage when God shares his thoughts with you and they are not like your thoughts. He warned us that would happen. Simply. Trust.