Today’s guest post comes from a dear friend. Guy and I were in a church Community Group with Brad and his wife Shawn; for many years we and another few couples met regularly to discuss God’s Word and pray together. We also shared a lot of life, good food and drink, service and outreach, and knit ourselves together as family. Brad is a deep thinker who works out his faith on his feet. I love that this challenge to create nudged him deeper in faith, and I hope it will do the same for you.
Create Challenge #35: Brad White
My wife and I just returned from our annual anniversary vacation. We celebrated our first incredible nine years together and are looking forward to many more nine’s. Hawaii is a beautiful place to celebrate and a great place to reflect. It is here where my blog contribution finally came to me.
Getting ready for vacation can be stressful. Right? What to pack? What not to pack? How will this look with this? Are we carrying on or are we checking? “Are you going to golf this year?” “Are you bringing long pants?” All of these questions must be answered. I am pleased to say that I packed light, did not pack a pair of long pants, and wore shorts to dinner every night.
This contribution is not at all about what I did pack but what I did not pack and missed. You see, my friends, I claim to be a man of faith and try to live the right way and practice what Jesus teaches. Yet, when it comes to taking God on vacation, did I pack Him? In my heart yes, but in my practice I did not. Did I need a vacation from Him? No Way! I just didn’t make Him important.
When I start my day in the Word—either in my devotional or other readings—I seem to get grounded and off to a great start. So why did I not pack my devotional and Bible? It was right there on the nightstand. Was it a conscious decision? No. It was not like I said, “You are staying here this week.” It was more like getting my head wrapped around all the other stuff that really doesn’t matter.
My friend Patrick Bradley and I talked about this while we were in Hawaii. Patrick and his lovely wife Lisa are good friends of ours. We met them three years ago on vacation and have vacationed together twice since. Patrick and Lisa are Christians and Patrick is deeply into the Word.
Coming home I was determined to get into my devotional to see what I missed and how I could have used it.
Thursday, October 20 “Confident in the Father” Perhaps if I had read this the flight would not have been so stressful knowing that one of our stores had just discovered asbestos in the flooring and it was going to delay an opening. Did I pray? Did I turn the stress over to God? Did I read this and know that He had me and this situation?
Friday, October 21 “Our Choice to Love” The One who had chosen to love created one who could love in return. Now it’s our choice. Did I show love and compassion to a stranger today?
Saturday, October 22 “Do Something” Did I do something to demonstrate my devotion? Did I pray, teach, go, write a letter? No, I held a table at the bar for three hours so we could have a great view of the TV to watch the Cubs beat the Dodgers. Some will say God is a Cub’s fan…!
Sunday, October 23 “A Crisp View of God” It sure is easy to see God when things are good, but much harder to look for Him and see Him when things get rough. Reading this when I got home made me feel even worse. It made me feel that I see God when it is crisp and convenient and yet I didn’t think enough to bring His Word and guidance with me.
Monday, October 24 “In a Word” Did I have the presence of God with me this day? Well, the day started with three hours of work. I did manage to pack that and knew that opening four stores while on vacation would prove difficult. I was right. This devotion spoke specifically to having the love of God on everything we do. Did I have God’s love when one of my team members told me via email that we were not going to make an opening because we failed to convert utilities? Did I have the love of Jesus in my heart when I made that call? Would I have approached it differently if I had read the Word in the morning? I believe I would have shown more grace. Instead, I needed to ask for forgiveness.
Tuesday, October 25 “What Heaven Holds” Pure Joy! Arguments will cease, for jealousy won’t exist. Every sin is gone. Every insecurity is forgotten. Every fear is past. There is pure hope, pure love, and no fear. What a great way to start your day. Right? I wouldn’t know, since I left it at home. Instead, I started my day with three hours of work and two conference calls.
Wednesday, October 26 “No Secrets from God” That’s kind of scary, don’t you think? I’ve been there. Thinking I can fix things on my own if I work harder, push harder with little to no regard for how it makes people feel along the way. Three more hours of work and calls all day. But hey, we opened four stores today. However, He knows I am going to do that. He knows who I am and He is patiently waiting for me to ask for forgiveness. I believe God is asking, “Brad, how many times do you need to do this before you figure it out?” The good news is He loves me anyway. Even when I don’t deserve it.
Thursday, October 27 “A Gentle Lamb” Thank goodness we have this gentle lamb we can call Father. What an incredible gift. We serve a God who says that even when we’re under pressure and feel like nothing is going to go right, He is waiting to embrace us whether we succeed or fail. What a beautiful message to start your day. This was a beautiful day indeed. We went snorkeling and saw some of the amazing creatures our God has created. Fish of every color, schools of fish being chased by a barracuda, and a huge sea turtle. I came out of this day in this peaceful place totally amazed by our Creator’s power. I sure wish I had started my day that way.
Friday, October 28 “A Heart Like His” Happy Anniversary to us. God certainly knew what he was doing when he brought Shawn into my life. She is my everything. Should I have read this before my anniversary day started? Oh, heck yes! Let me tell you what I missed. This devotion spoke about the ledger we keep when measuring success and accomplishments. The ledger I keep is full of so many unnecessary columns. I think about this as I look at the best earthly being who has ever been part of my life. Why do we keep ledgers? Why do we measure? Why do I find it difficult to display pure love? These matters are irrelevant to God and should be to me as well.
Saturday, October 29. We are Home! I can read what I have been missing. I can pray and ask for forgiveness, and I can get back into my routine. Sounds easy, right? It’s not.
So what did I learn during my vacation? A few things…
- Pack your routine with you.
- Enjoy the beauty of the Creator
- Look at the stars
- Breathe
- Don’t pack long pants when you go to Hawaii
- Love freely
- Open your heart to the love of the Creator
- No more ledgers
- Don’t try to open stores during vacation!
The peace I find in writing this is simple… While I might have forgotten to pack God when preparing for my vacation, He NEVER forgets to pack us. He has us right there in His never failing grip of love.
That’s a good thing.
