Unfortunate Events

This year has been quite an emotional roller coaster and the next couple of blogs I am hoping to share a bit of what we have gone through and how we have discovered the blessings amongst the hard times.

This is a blog I began awhile ago and never got around to completing it until now.

Sometimes we get weeks that just don't work out the way we want them to.  I had such a week not too long ago that not only made things bad for me, but for the entire family.  I lost my passport and, along with that, two KITAS cards (the Indonesian card that proves you are allowed to live here).  If losing my passport was the only thing that went wrong that week I may not have been high on anxiety like I was,  but there were minor details that had to be taken care of and not all of that went as smoothly as I would have hoped.  Details like getting a police report in a foreign country, a trip to the Canadian Embassy which resulted in a smashed rear end to the car, not having valid up-to-date ID in order to get a new passport, and cancelling the wrong hotel reservation for a holiday that we could no longer go on with our friends.  It truly wasn't a week to brag about.

The entire week that we (I say we, because Paul was alongside me through it all) dealt with each little hiccup I tried reminding myself that God had His hands even in this seemingly insignificant trial.  It is difficult to go through something that really has no positive gain, whatsoever... or at least no positive gain that I can see.  I know God works in mysterious ways, and I know He is teaching me/us something through all of this.

So, what do you do when life throws you a curve ball, or when God suddenly redirects your original plans?  Our plans were to spend a week away on the beaches of Langkawi, Malaysia with friends, but instead we were "stuck" at home.  I can't say it was all that bad.  I am a homebody so I felt like it was a bit of a treat to chill out around the house and not have any obligations or anywhere that we needed to go.  The best part was that Paul also realized the value of being at home and the kids got time to just hang out and play with their toys.

Playing Monopoly

Skating

  

  

Swimming Day at the Country Club

Just enjoying the simple things!

I can still say I do not see how losing my passport and all the other unfortunate events of that week were part of the grand scheme of God's plan for our lives, but then again, maybe it's just something that happened, and we had to learn to get through it.  We had a wonderful time as a family regardless and appreciated the things right in our own home and the activities close by.