867 That Was Unexpected

Our God is not only the God of miracles, but he is the God of the unexpected. The God of surprises. The God of unfolding goodness you could have never imagined on your own. But, in order to experience this goodness, faith will be required. A strong stomach to handle the ups and downs that lead to the destination you do not know yet. God wants to take you on an adventure, but that adventure will include an element of uncertainty that will make you highly uncomfortable. Will you still show up for it? Or will you sit it out? Sometimes God doesn’t reveal all the details to us because he knows we would dismiss ourselves from the opportunity if we knew. So, our loving and all-knowing, good, good father withholds some of the information so you will still show up. He doesn’t want you to miss what he has for you, so some things will just be kept secret until you step into them. Kinda like my real life experiences last night. Y’all, I woke up with sore abs from laughing harder than I’ve ever laughed before. Let me tell you a little story … I’m traveling to Norris Lake in Tennessee with 2 members of my leadership team. We’re on our way to host the next BIG Life Retreat on a houseboat. We thought that was adventure enough … but there was so much more waiting for us. We decided to forgo the boring interstate hotel on our travels and opted for the “unique stays” option on AirBnB. There I found GLAMPING. Glamping is camping, but glamorous … or well, it’s supposed to be. It’s this fabulous large canvas tent with tall ceilings and hard wood floors, and real beds. Even rocking chairs on the front porch overlooking the most gorgeous mountain views. Glamping. I mean heck yeah … it’s been on my bucket list for 10 years! I book it and tell the members of my team and we’re all excited. We come rolling up to the campsite about midnight and it is absolute perfection. The wild animals were making all kinds of wild noises and we were unpacking by lantern light. Then reality sets in … where’s the toilet in this joint? Instructions reveal we are given a potty bag for our stay. Yes, a potty bag. ONE. A medium size black trash bag which tells us we must take it with us when we leave. There are 3 of us, so we immediately start debating on who’s going first. I lost. “Leaders go last”, they reminded me. What in the world had I gotten us into? How could I have mistakenly assumed there would be a restroom in this glamorous camping situation. I could have swore I remember seeing photos of a toilet in the listing and I specifically remember it stating hot shower. Oh, those things are available, it just requires a hike down the hill, holding onto a rope to the horse barn below. It was one of the most memorable stays of my life. I will never forget this experience. I would have paid triple for the laughter and memories we created. But here’s the thing … if I would have known all the details in advance, I would have never booked it. I wouldn’t have willingly chosen a potty bag in the woods over a Holiday Inn on the interstate, and I certainly wouldn’t have drug my team into it. But think of all we would have forfeited if we would have known. And I think this is exactly why God doesn’t give us all the details of our journey in advance. We wouldn’t show up if we knew the hardship. We wouldn’t go if we knew the struggle. And we would miss all he had for us along the way. So, he tells us just enough to make us want to go. Just like the host of this glamping experience. He told us about the hot outdoor shower, but failed to tell us about the rope path required to get there. He showed us photos of the indoor toilet, but didn’t disclose we would be using a potty bag at midnight. And I’m so grateful he left out those detail...