The Best & Worst Storm
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
Have you ever experienced a horrible/good vacation?
Well, we did.
Destin, Florida. We had counted down months, then weeks and finally days until this trip. A secluded state park outside the hustle and bustle of this beach town in the Florida panhandle was the DESTINation.
It started to sour when our RV blew a tire just south of Gator territory (i.e., Gainesville, Florida). After about an hour delay, my husband had us back on the road again – spare tireless because seriously you cannot blow two tires in one trip. Well, yes you can. And you can blow it about an hour away from vacation.
After an additional three-hour delay, we pulled into the campground with our RV limping across the finish line not sure what damage we would encounter once we set up in our spot. The eight-hour trip took us twelve hours and we were exhausted, wiped out, stressed out and honestly ready to go home. Had it not been eight hours back, we probably would’ve gone home.
After we settled in our site, we decided we should check the two tires that had not blown to make sure they were OK for the trip home. Both were shot. There went any spending money for dolphin cruises or Jet Ski rentals. We bought four new tires for our souvenirs.
Finally to top off the week, on the last morning at 4am, our 80lb Australian Shepherd jumps on our bed-soaking wet. He was trying to alert us to the fact that the camper was leaking water somewhere and there was no dry floor left for him to lay on.
Really, after all the planning and saving, it was easy to fall into the trap of “why us, Lord?” However, rather feeling sorry for us because of the Griswold vacation mishaps, I began to praise God by thinking of all the things I had to be thankful for despite the mishaps. Here is what I came up with:
- Praising God that we had minimal damage to our RV from the tire blows. We talked with other RVers who faired far worse, enough that vacation couldn’t have happened.
- Praising God that he kept my husband safe while he changed the tires and did emergency repairs on the RV while pulled over on the interstate with cars and semis zipping by.
- Praising God for the rain and thunderstorm that cooled the disabled RV on a hot Florida summer afternoon for my husband, daughter and dogs while I drove our truck to a Wal-Mart to buy 2 new tires.
- Praising God that our dog was smart enough to wake us up when the camper flooded.
- Praising God for the fellow campers he placed in our lives that week to share stories and advice on how to move forward.
- Praising God that despite the horrific start and less than stellar ending, we enjoyed the week at the beach.
- Praising God for family time while away, a time to simply focus on the five of us. We played games, rode bikes, hit the pool, shopped, explored and fished together all week.
- Praising God for technology so my oldest daughter didn’t miss her Algebra 1 class while on vacation.
- Praising God for creating some beautifully amazing emerald green beaches. Seriously, how can I have lived in Florida so long and never explored the panhandle beaches? They are so different from our West Coast Florida beaches.
Trials will certainly come and go and in the grand scheme of things a bad vacation is easy compared to trials others are going through. I’m learning more and more to praise God in the storm. I know He has a greater plan and even though things didn’t go as I had hoped, He still had our backs. That is why I say we had the best worse vacation ever.
Take some time today to read through God’s word scriptures related to trials. There are so many because we will face so many trials. Yet, God still knows the outcome and loves us through the fire. Romans 12:12 says,
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
So today, in your trial rejoice in the Hope that Christ has given us, be patient and make your needs, petitions and supplications known to our God who is able to above and beyond anything we could ever imagine.
In Christ Alone,
Dana
We had vacation that was horrible once! But we decided to be thankful, it was a paid for vacation! It’s so hard for me at times to see the good in trials, but like you said God has a plan. Thank you for encouraging us!
It is sometimes hard to praise God while in a storm. But we also know that God will see us through the storm.
I am glad that you still had a great vacation, even with all the mishaps.
Sometimes all we can do is thank God that nothing more happened and just stand there and have a good laugh and chose to have a wonderful time after all, and a camper is still better than a pup tent, blessings Gloria