Beach Trip Gone Bad ... Or Did It?

Life is really all about perspective! Your perspective! You and someone else can be in the same situation and have two different feelings about it and two different outcomes. Someone can take a problem and win with it while someone else, based on their perspective, can take it and “lose.” 

My girls and I planned a trip to Destin in hopes of being beach bums. The year is almost over, and none of us had been on vacation yet. We planned to have clear skies and sunny days, relaxing in the sand.

Well, everything didn't go as we planned it.

We got to Destin for our girl's beach trip, and it was cloudy skies, wind, and it rained sporadically. Not just one day but the entire trip. We were bummed out about the weather, but the weather didn't affect us having a good time.Instead of hitting the beach, we found other indoor activities, went shopping, out to eat, and just lounged around filling our Airbnb with prayer, worship, laughter, love, small talk, music, dancing, business conversations, and heart to heart moments. I told you guys I am not a chef in my first blog, but they even had your girl in the kitchen, cooking breakfast and dinner. A trip that was meant for us to be catching tans and them swimming in the ocean, because don't judge me, but I can't swim, turned into time spent inside. In the past, this would've had me moody and complaining about the whole trip.

I would've completely missed the moment to connect and relax with my girls because my head would've been filled with negativity. All because I couldn't change my perspective. 

I then started thinking about how our perspective on life will determine how we live it. If things don't go as we plan in life, will we make a new plan?  Or will we be moody, sulk, cry, and be depressed? Sometimes I do all of the above and then change my perspective if we're being honest here, but I didn't go through all of the emotions this time. I just rolled with the punches, and it felt amazing. Things will go perfectly, and sometimes they won't.

But things going "perfectly" is subjective.

Sometimes our plan isn't God's plans, and we should learn to be perfectly fine with that. Just think back to that horrible boyfriend you swore would be your husband, and I mean, do you even know him now? You realized that plan not working was the best thing that ever happened to you, right? See how you just shifted your mindset? We need to do that daily. Like when the car doesn't start when we're late. When the kids aren't cooperating as you're trying to head out the door. How about when the waiter gets our order wrong? Or when someone cuts you off in traffic.

The moment we realize we're no longer able to change a situation, we should challenge ourselves to change our perspective. 

There's someone out there who planned to be married to their spouse forever and ended up divorced, someone who planned to get a promotion and got fired, someone who planned to have biological children but had to adopt, someone who planned to have their life figured out by 25 and they're 31 still figuring it out now. That last one is me lol. I know these things don't compare to a failed sunny beach trip, but it's life, and these things are happening every day.

But God!

He always has another and better way for us. Even if we can't see it at that moment. Unanticipated circumstances shouldn't stop us from living our best life! I genuinely believe something doesn't happen the way we plan because it's not in God's will for our life. So, will we accept God's will for our lives and know that He wastes nothing? Or will we continue to go against the grain in misery trying to change it? 

Then there are times I truly believe we're reaping seeds our ancestors, or we have sown. We need to be accountable for our actions and realize the part we played or realize; generational curses need to be broken. In this, I strongly suggest seeking wise counsel, prayer, and fasting. However, both outcomes require us to choose because there will always be two types of people in unplanned situations. In Destin, I lived in the moment God had for me.

I changed my perspective because I couldn’t change the situation. I plan to do that more often. 

Who will you choose to be? Will you be the person that rolls with the punches? Accepts accountability when necessary? Or will you be the one who let unplanned circumstances take you out?

Ask yourself, how many moments have you missed out on because you couldn't make a shift in your thoughts?

I'm challenging myself, and I'm challenging you to pay attention to how you react when things don't go your way. 

No sunny skies like we hoped for, but this beach trip ended up being one for the books!