Somewhere we didn't want to be...Two-thousand and eight certainly ended as unpredicable as it began for the Ray family. We spent some time with the in-laws over Christmas, driving nearly 22 hours one-way to be with the family. Our journey to Oregon was fairly uneventful, but almost everything that followed certainly was not. We woke Christmas morning at 6:00 a.m. to the blaring fire alarm in our hotel. Unshowered and bedraggled, we threw on our clothes, grabbed our camera, and headed for the parking lot. As the fire trucks rolled in and the smoke rolled out, we resigned ourselves to our dishevelled state and headed to my mother-in-laws for the day.
Our return journey to Colorado should have taken us just under 22 hours but ended up taking three days due to wave after wave of western snow and road closures. As we settled into a Super 8 in La Grande, Oregon and ate our survival food from McDonald's, I again had to resign myself to what was beyond my control. I needed to be at work Monday morning, but there was little I could do about it. Once the pass opened around 2:00 a.m., we made a break for it but had to encounter four more intense snow storms before arriving safely at our door in Denver. Throughout the whole journey, I was reminded about how seldom things are under our control.
If there's anything 2008 taught us, it's that the plans we make are subject to something or Someone else. We knew that '08 would be a year of transition and upheaval, and it has certainly been that. A year ago, we were beginning to pack up our home in Ireland and prepare ourselves for re-entry to the United States. We were facing the reality of good-byes and farewells, uncertain of what was ahead of us. Our best laid plans included Ireland, but those plans were obviously altered.
I was speaking to a woman in line at a department store in Roseburg, Oregon on Christmas eve day. The lines were massive, and I only had one item to purchase. She kindly offered to have me go ahead of her in line. I thanked her and said that I wasn't in a hurry. As she began to unload her cart onto the check out counter, she turned to me and said, "How come you are so patient and calm when everyone else in this place is in so much of a hurry?" I simply told her that I made up my mind before going into the store that I wouldn't be stressed. I resigned myself ahead of time to the inevitable delay.
Over the weekend, I headed to the mountains with one of our former interns who was visiting us from Indiana. We were driving through the northern Colorado Rockies when I saw a National Forest road that appeared to be plowed, so I took it in anticipation of finding some wildlife. All was going well until I got stuck in a snow bank and soon realized that my four-wheel drive wasn't going to be enough to get us out. All we had was a snow brush to dig with, so we spent the next couple of hours trying to unlodge my truck. Since we went off the road, the frame of the truck was resting on compacted snow, preventing my wheels from getting full traction. I resigned myself to the fact that we had to dig out the snow from underneath the frame of the truck (with a snow brush) and that we were going to get wet, cold, and tired. Did I mention it was 0 degrees, the sun was setting, and we had no cell phone coverage?
Resigned. Chuck it in. Give up. Abdicate my throne. Relinquish. Stand down. Surrender.
The word carries with it negative connotations, but there's an aspect of surrender and resignation that I have come to appreciate. I guess I would rather appreciate it than have it forced upon me! At some point in time, we all come to the end of what we can do, but in that place, it's good to know that there is something else of the Father's work that is on-going. Perhaps there's another purpose.
When I resigned myself to my dishevelled state on Christmas, I enjoyed a conversation with my sister-in-law that I might not otherwise have had. When I resigned myself to the weather and road conditions, I was able to enjoy the extra time I had to be with my wife. When I resigned myself to our international move, I was able to reflect back on our years in Ireland with gratitude and enjoy the new young people in Colorado that the Lord has brought into our lives. When I resigned myself to the crowds in the department store, I was able to enjoy a few moments of meaningful interaction with a stranger. When I resigned myself to digging out my truck with a snow brush, I could enjoy the memory that was being made with my friend.
I'm not sure what '09 has for us, but I don't think I'll be making plans anytime soon. For now, I want to appreciate the place we find ourselves in. I might dream a little too.
Happy New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment