Don't sweat the small stuff

I am in the midst of planning two different preaching trips, one to Puerto Rico/Dominican Republic in May and another to Dominica in July. The one in May involves 4 people and the Dominica involves at 6. As always, there are snags in planning.

I'm renting a car in Puerto Rico, which is always fun--not the car or the roads, the car rental process. I have a coupon for an upgrade, but of course they don't accept that in Puerto Rico. I was quoted one price but the e-mail confirmation is over $100 higher and when I called to check on this I was quoted still another price in between the two. Besides all that, I'm thinking of the hour it took me to get the car last time. I had also hoped we would have a house available to house all four of us in one place, but that fell through yesterday.

Getting to Dominica is always a challenge, well getting there in one day is a challenge. I have spent at least an hour checking every possible combination--going through St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, even Trinidad, all to no avail. There is just no way to get to Dominica without spending the night in route, both coming and going, which is of course an added expense for all involved.

I have a tendency to let all this get to me, but then I remember what my Lord says about worry. "Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to your stature?" "Cast all your burdens on Him, for He cares for you." Then I let it all go because I know the Lord is in control. Does it always work out the most convenient way for me? No, but with the Lord's help I am always able to get through it. Is it any different in our daily lives? How we sometimes let other drivers, whether slow, fast, reckless, lost, etc. get our goat. But we seem to get where we're going, don't we, even if it is 2 minutes later than it could have been. When one of the kids gets sick, it can really be a hassle, but when they get well life goes on as usual. Let us all learn to let go and give our cares to our Heavenly Father in prayer--He knows what to do with them.

Tol