“I’m done, Rachel…you can get in now!!” Victoria called.
My stomach growled as I jumped in the shower after her. I was taking my first shower in a couple days because the girls on Team Unsilenced were finally going to spend some quality time together and go get some lunch. Saturdays are usually easy days for us…maybe a little bit of chores to do around our ministry location, but overall it’s usually a relaxing day of the week for us in Jaco.
The shower was super amazing. Freezing cold of course, but the ice cold water feels great when you constantly have sweat laying on your body.
As I turned the shower off, I hear Victoria call to me through the bathroom door.
“Rachel?”
“Yeah?”
“I have some, uh, bad news.”
“Lay it on me,” I say.
She proceeds to tell me that the plumber guy just came, and we have to dig for pipes immediately instead of go to lunch.
dig
Whoa…seriously?? And I just took a shower!! Which doesn’t happen very often by the way…
We knew we would have to dig up some more dirt to search for the water pipe (we haven’t had water for a few days due to a busted water pipe), but we didn’t expect to have to do it so soon. [Side note: I was able to shower because the water was working in another building on the property…just not ours].
So I threw the clothes on that I planned to wear to lunch, which included a skirt and a nice shirt. With my hair still in a towel, I grabbed a shovel from the tool shed and began digging with my teammates.
As I was digging, I was frustrated. My skirt clung to my legs and my nice shirt was already drenched with sweat. We made this awesome plan to hang out and get lunch, and our plans changed in an instant.
Well…the thing about digging is that it gives you alot of time to think. And for God to speak to you if you let Him.
I had just posted James 1:2-3 on Facebook the day before this, and here I was, inwardly complaining about the ‘storm’ that had been placed before me today. I needed to embrace this storm, this unexpected trouble, and find joy in it. And maybe even laugh about it instead of let anger build up in me. We ended up finishing the job (mostly haha) and having a great day overall.
This is just one of many examples of things going wrong/plans changing since we’ve been in Costa Rica. We can cry & get angry about things not going our way, or we can choose to laugh about it and find the Light in the situation.
You can choose to let go of control and trust that God has a plan to grow you each day. Take the unexpected turns with a smile.
Colossians 3:23– Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
James 1:2-3– Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (Notice it says ‘when’ trouble comes your way, not ‘if.’)
Sometimes you have to yell “PLOT TWIST!!!” and keep on going. God is writing your story, so give Him control of the plot.
You can’t control what happens to you…but you can control how you react to it.
I pray you, too, embrace the twists and turns of life and count it all joy.
