No Whining!

I love to travel – well, let me revise that – I love the IDEA of traveling and I love the idea of being away ONCE I’M THERE.  But what I DON’T love is the preparation beforehand and the catch-up afterward.  Almost without exception, in the week or two before a planned trip, I’m sorry I ever got myself into it!  There’s packing to think of, there’s the boarding of the dogs, and there’s at least a zillion tasks to take care of ahead of time, not to mention all of the catching up once you return.

I’m writing this ahead of time (one of many tasks that need to be done before I leave!) because this week, Alison Beal, Dave Bigam, Connie Whalen and myself are in Richardson, Texas for the Large Church Initiative conference.  I’ve attended this event in the past, and there is always so much to learn and so many new perspectives to gain!  We’ve all been looking forward to the conference for months now.

However, today I’m busy cleaning up all the loose ends, writing this reflection ahead of time, thinking about packing and the dogs and a million other things and I’m just plain out of the mood to get on that plane Monday morning!!

Maybe you function the same way I do.  You get a lot of little tasks on your plate and you allow all of it to distract you from whatever project is in front of you – you just feel like throwing up your hands and saying “ENOUGH!!”  You’d rather just sit back and settle into your “normal” routine.

I’m not sure, though, that God cares about upsetting our “normal” routine.  I think God is always SEEKING to disturb our “normal” routine – always leading us to new experiences and new adventures and new learning opportunities – all for the purpose of growing us into new people who glorify his name.

I hope God didn’t hear me whining.

Pastor Janice