We aren’t the spontaneous type. With two preschoolers, we try to stay ahead of whatever chaos is eminent. This requires planning – planning to go to the grocery store, planning to go run common errands, planning when we will eat and nap and play.
Life doesn’t always work out the way we plan…. But we plan anyway.
Last Thursday, my husband got off work for an unexpected four day weekend. I don’t remember who suggested it first, but one minute I was standing in my living room folding clothes while the kids played in their jammies, and the next, we were packing for a quick trip to Grapevine, TX and Great Wolf Lodge.
It goes without saying that there wasn’t much time for planning.
I think we were on the road less than two hours after the idea was first mentioned. I went back and forth between applauding ourselves for being so awesome and “just doing it” and terrified that we had forgotten something important like the dog or something.
But, the longer we drove, the more things I checked off my list of potential disasters. We were on vacation, and surprisingly, nothing seemed to be falling apart despite our lack of planning.
The Lodge itself was awesome. Beyond the excitement of getting to sleep in hotel beds and eat in the Lodge restaurant, the kids could not wait to get on their little life jackets and get to the indoor waterpark.
I think my husband and I were just as excited. We had seen pictures, but until entering the pool area, we had no idea what to expect. There were water cannons and slides and rides and a kiddie pool and a wave pool – and plenty to do for the next two days.
My son, a cautious little man, went straight for the kids’ area. The stationary jet skis and water cannons were calling his name. He and I spent the majority of the morning together in that area of the park.
My daughter is a little more fearless. Her daddy offered to take her into the wave pool, and while she was a little nervous at first, every time I peeked over to see how she and her daddy were doing, there were plenty of smiles and tons of laughter.
Every little girl needs a daddy who will take her a little deeper than her momma might feel comfortable.
The next few hours passed quickly. Before long, the kids were ready to get out and have a snack, and we decided to take a break before coming back later in the day.
Honestly, the next few days passed just as quickly. It didn’t seem like it should be time for us to be headed home, but as we drove, we talked about our favorite parts of our adventure.
I started with my son, “What was your favorite part of our vacation?”
“I loved the blue slide and playing the games in the arcade!”
I asked the same question of my daughter. “Sister, what was your favorite part of the trip?”
“I loved dancing with daddy.”
“When did you and daddy dance?”
“When we were in the wave pool,” she said in her little three year old accent.
My husband looked up at her in the rear view mirror. His smile was as big as hers as she told me about their time in the pool.
“I put my arm around daddy like this, and we held hands like this, and we danced in the waves.”
Our trip had been special, but that is what she will always remember about our first real family vacation.
It is funny how special unplanned moments can be…
Sometimes, life calls us out a little deeper than we thought we might be ready to go. We trust the One who calls us out and promises to hold us close. But I cannot help but think about the lasting impact and eternal truth represented in what my husband taught my daughter.
Sometimes, God surprises us. He asks us to trust Him. He takes us to a place we didn’t think we were ready to go – farther out into the water than we are sure of…
But just like my daughter and her daddy, something special happens when we choose to trust Him. Something special happens when we allow Him to take us where the waves are steady and we cannot make it on our own.
He doesn’t just teach us how to trust Him. He teaches us how to dance.
My daughter doesn’t talk about how big the waves were. She doesn’t talk about how they came one after another. She talks about how her daddy held her hand, how she clung to his neck, and how they danced holding onto one another.
Sometimes, God teaches us how to dance, and we don’t even realize that we are learning to trust Him in the process.
Next time, my daughter won’t be as timid to get back in the wave pool with her daddy, because He taught her that as long as daddy is holding her, she is safe.
Is the Lord asking you to trust Him today? Is He asking you to let Him take you deeper than you thought you were ready to go? You might be surprised what you find what you go with Him. You might be surprised what happens in your heart and in your life when you wrap your arms around the only One who can keep you safe.
He just might teach you to dance – and you will learn to trust Him in the waves.
