Preparations

So for the past few days, Ben Wiese and I have been trying to figure out some things that we will need to buy and bring with us to Colorado this summer. We have talked about things to buy, things to remember, and things to think about to better prepare ourselves mentally for what we will be doing. Basically we have been doing what we can to get ready to go. As our journey is only a few days away from beginning, our preparations are only getting us more excited to leave and get started.

While both of us are extremely anxious to get going, there is of course the part of me that can't help but think negatively about what might happen. Those who know me well know that when it comes to something about myself, I almost always tend towards the pessimistic side. This feeling isn't anywhere as large as it could be, but it is still there. Mainly I wonder about what I will do in difficult situations and hope that I don't do anything terribly stupid. I know that I want to do good things for others and will do some for some people there, but there is of course the chance that something will happen for the worst.

Despite the preparations that have been made, there is always the chance something bad and unexpected can happen. But for once, I think that I will look ahead with optimism. Despite the preparations that have been made, there is always the chance something good and unexpected can happen.

Sometimes, no, scratch that, almost always I think that God works in ways that are unexpected. Someone comes to us that we never would guess could help us or need our help, or a situation comes up that seems like it never would have happened without God at the helm. And so while there is the chance that I will mess up a conversation or two or twenty, there is the chance that I will get one right and a beautiful relationship will blossom between another and I, or another and God, or even myself and God. And this unexpected relationship is almost always certain to be more beautiful and meaningful than any that can come from hours of preparations.

So here's the moral: this summer, I will try to look optimistically at every encounter, hoping and knowing that something unexpected can happen at any moment. The preparations that have been made aren't bad or wrong, but knowing that God's plans are most certainly better than my own makes me excited about seeing his plan and preparations unravel.

And so, I expect to be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected nature of God. And I expect to learn from the unexpected people with whom I will cross paths.