Travel Worries. When Worrying about Worrying Pays Off!
Have you ever worried about worrying? It's quite fun actually, as eventually you
end up realizing that you don't need to worry at all!
It happened to me on our way home from Seattle. As I was sitting comfortably in
the nice brown leather chair provided by Alaska Airlines, several thousand feet
about the earth, nibbling on an ice cube provided with my tonic water, I found
myself reviewing our recent trip in my mind. Suddenly it hit me: What would have
happened if any of our travel plans had been delayed for any reason?
You see, I had planned our trip in detail months before the event, and in order
to take full advantage of our three weeks of vacation, I had minutely
coordinated all the connections, events and accommodations. Any delay would have
caused my precious plans to tumble like a fragile house of cards!
I mean, what if the plane had been delayed in Rochester and we had arrived in
Seattle a day late? Imagine the nightmare of contacting all the travel
arrangements made months in advance.
What if the Alaskan Ferry had been late by more than a day, or even worse, what
if it had sunk before it picked us up? There wouldn't have been another ferry
for another 3-4 days! "Stuck in Prince Rupert, B.C., so close to our final goal,
Alaska, but too far away (and too cold!) to contemplate swimming in the frigid
waters!" Of course I could have also worried about it sinking when we were
aboard, but even I didn't want to go there!
What if there had been no Canadian cars at the Hertz car rental at the Seattle
airport? Would we have had to walk?
What if a hotel lost our reservation? Would we have had to live in the streets?
What if…
It's then that I realized that there are no "what ifs" in God's vocabulary. Not
only did we have to trust in the people with whom we made the reservations, but
we also had to trust our Heavenly Father who always has our best interest at
heart. After all, there was that one motel that DID conveniently lose our
reservation. We were plenty upset at the time. I could just imagine us, at the
end of a long day on the Alaska Highway, having to load everyone back in the car
and travel another 400 miles through rugged mountain terrain to the next town
big enough to have a hotel . . . But when we decided to leave it in God's hands,
we learned that the hotel right beside the one we had planned to stay at still
had a room available-a room that was twice as big, with queen-sized beds, and
cheaper than the hotel that had turned us down! In fact, because of our lost
reservation, we ended up at the best hotel in town!
Does God provide? No doubt about it!
So why worry? It only makes us needlessly shake in our boots! No wonder I have
to buy so many pairs of shoes!
Instead, let's welcome such trials with open arms. Let's delight in sitting back
to watch how our Heavenly Father turns those same trials into opportunities to
get to know Him better! After all, He ALWAYS has our best interest at heart!
Here is some advice from the Lover of our soul:
"What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied
with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and
the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry
about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked
up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with
whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matt 6:31-34 The Message)
"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do
this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?" (Luke 12:25-26 NIV)
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." (John 14:1
NIV)
"Oh no! Will my package arrive on time?"
Should you even bother worrying about it?
"But it's my new X-box! I can't wait to try it out!"
Why not try God out instead? Discover the scores of adrenaline that He will
bestow on you through the amazing adventures He has planned for you! Adventures that
will ensure that He is a vital part of your life, adventures that will ensure
that you get to know Him better!
Wow!
Rob Chaffart