Sometimes when you go on vacation, you leave something important at home...like your brain. There's something about getting out of the normal routine that can trip us up and cause us to make silly mistakes we wouldn't normally make.
Once when we lived in Minnesota we left the key to the boat at home on top of the fridge and didn't realize it until the boat was in the water at the lake. Luckily, we lived about a half hour away and it just cost us some time and a little gas money.
When I studied in Spain I took a trip to southern Spain during Easter break and stayed with another girl at a friend of a friend's apartment. The family that lived there wasn't home when we arrived. We didn't think much about the light not being on in the refrigerator, we were only there for a couple of days and we didn't use it much. The family was pretty upset when they got home, though. They had forgotten to plug it in before they left and most of the food was spoiled by the time they got there. I'm still not sure why we didn't figure that one out...fridges should be cold no matter where you live!
This camping trip has been no exception. It's our first time out using the camper and boat this summer (I know, sad, right?) and we remembered almost everything we've needed. One year we forgot our striker and matches the first time we camped and had to borrow a striker from the camp host so we could start our campfire. We had fun boating yesterday and laid all of our towels out on the picnic table to dry when we got back. I didn't give them another thought and noone else did, either. I didn't even think of them when I heard it start raining in the middle of the night. I wish I had, though, because we have a bunch of sopping wet towels now. I didn't think!
So often our lack of thinking can get us into even bigger problems than a bunch of wet towels. It can get us into relationship problems, financial troubles, and messes that cause frustration and lots of time to fix. Let's focus on asking God to help us think, even when we're away from home or very tired. He promises to help us.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5 NIV)
Have you ever done something foolish because you were too tired or out of your normal routine and setting? How can focusing on God help you to act wisely even when you're in those situations?
When my kids were little, they liked toast with cinnamon and sugar for breakfast, so I filled an empty spice bottle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. One morning after too little sleep, I grabbed the jar of garlic salt instead. Not tasty!
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, Connie! I bet they were pretty shocked. I think I may do something similar sometime. Our cinnamon jar looks almost exactly like the jar for Chili powder. That would not be a good mistake to make either. :-)
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