Recap: Pre-Trip Preparations

It's amazing how quickly 3 months turns into 3 weeks. It wasn't too long ago that I remember Matt asking me to take charge of this trip, and now I'm making 2-3 long trips up to Flower Mound to get the final details taken care of. I knew from the get-go that I was going to have to rely solely on the Lord's provisions to lead this team well. Somehow or another, in the last 3 weeks, I managed to neglect that idea and tried to tighten my fist around anything and everything to make sure I was in control. I wrestled and fought and exhausted myself trying to be this superman leader that would wow the church leadership and everyone else that was watching. It still amazes me how quickly I forget the Lord's commands and promises. Even to the last night as I prayed that the Lord would help me let go and trust in Him, I felt the weight of anxiety fall on me, thinking that I was going to screw up, that I forgot some major detail, that I was missing some document, or that I didn't think about some obscure, yet essential part of the trip. But in His grace God gave me peace and helped finally find rest. The next morning I showed up at the airport without a worry b/c I knew God had everything taken care of, even as the people at the check-in counter couldn't pull up our records (next recap). There wasn't anything I could more to get ready for the trip, so it was easier to let go of control when I knew I've done what I could, and there was nothing more I could do. The way I started the preparations was the same way I ended the preparations: Trusting in God. I faltered and fell a few times along the way, but His grace brought me back. As any kind of leader, this was an important lesson to learn. And I'm glad I realized it before embarking on this adventurous journey where we would face any number of situations that challenged our idea of control.