So after a wonderful visit with my son, I'm a little behind in writing and have some catching up to do. There were so many days when I should have written and even wanted to write, but was just too tired or caught up in things that I didn't. Anyway, last week I wrote Expecting. Today, it's the Unexpected.
After flying into San Francisco, we stayed in a little inn in Sonoma for the first few nights. (I may blog more about our trip later because there is so much to share, but I'll save it for another time) We met some people and it was lovely. What we didn't expect is that one of the couples from the hotel would be on our tour in Napa, on a little bus through the hills and vineyards, but there they were. And what we didn't expect was that while we are from very different places, they are from Montana and we are from NJ, we would have so much in common and would very quickly become friends. We hope to visit them one day! Expect the unexpected!
And while the weather was windy and cloudy at the outset of our tour, it turned out to be a wonderful, warm day. Expect the unexpected. While we were headed one place, we decided to drive up the coast a bit 'just to see', and decided to stick to the coast for our drive home. Expect the unexpected. Driving through forests of Redwood trees, we didn't expect to turn the corner and be greeted by The Ocean but we were blown away by the beauty and majesty of the Pacific! Expect the Unexpected. We didn't expect to be by a creek that bears my brother's name, but there we were. We didn't expect to get upgraded at the second hotel, but we ended up in the Penthouse Suite - unbelievable! Expect the Unexpected.
It is the most wonderful emotion to be Surprised by Joy, as C.S. Lewis calls it. It is not something planned or controlled, not even thought of or desired until, without warning, it arises, to paraphrase Lewis. What can you allow yourself to be surprised by? I do think it takes a certain frame of mind. We cannot be caught up in our own thoughts and worries, predispositions and expectations. Before we got to the ocean, we actually had reservations that I was frantically trying to cancel so that we wouldn't be charged and for a few moments, it wasn't going through. Finally, the reservation was canceled. No obligations. No expectations. I was relaxed. I was ready to live. I was in the moment. And then I was surprised. Not that there is a formula for it. But I really can't remember a time I was so open and free. It's that feeling at the top of the swing when gravity lets go for a split second and you let go too and feel yourself bounce. Joy! Even on vacation with our kids, there is often a nagging anxiety. Are we doing the right thing? Is this where we're supposed to be? Is this where we want to be? Is this what our kids need? Is everybody happy? It goes on and on. Well, after 24 years of raising kids, I can say I was able to let go, at least for a few days. That hasn't always been the case. Even when I talked about letting go.
Maybe this is a little of Lent too. So here we are suffering in our Lenten sacrifices but we can still find the joy. It comes in the smallest of ways, in tiny moments. God is waiting to surprise you. He is aligning the stars to bring you joy. Expect the Unexpected. After the crucifixion, no one expected to see Jesus again. And yet...
Today I wish for you Joy, not the planned kind like ordering a birthday cake, but the sheer surprise of unexpected joy. What can you let go of? What reservations, literal or figurative, external and internal, can you cancel? What unexpected thing can you allow yourself to experience? What can you be surprised by?
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