Adventure and Anticipation

I might be taking a trip this summer.
With my husband, of course.

It started very innocently. I thought it would be nice to get away for 2 or 3 days together. It's been a long time since we've been anywhere. The beach? The mountains? How far could we get in just a long weekend?

Then my sister went to the Bahamas. And she had a blast. I looked online at the place she visited, and almost had the guts to wonder if we might take a trip like that. (I haven't noticed any money growing on our trees.....) I casually mentioned to Ryan that supposedly there are inexpensive trip packages out there, and wouldn't it be nice to really get the most bang for our buck?

A few days later, I saw a friend from church who has a travel business. I mentioned to her that we wanted to get away for a few days. She sent me an email with some trip suggestions. Mexico? COSTA RICA? Wow. My imagination hadn't travelled further than off the coast of Florida. She said these places were possibilities, and wanted to know what things we enjoy, and what we like to do.

When was the last time I stopped to think about something like that?

Me, with no kids to look after. What would I want to do?

I wasn't sure at first. But then I realized.......

I want adventure.
I want to be wowed.
I want an experience I'll never forget.

This realization kind of shocked me. I mean, I spend my days driving 3 kids in a minivan, and making ramen noodles for lunch. My adventures have to do with the hissing beetles Clara finds in the woods and sneaks into the house.

This whole idea of a trip has snowballed into something that I never thought it could be. It started as a quick trip to just "get away from it all." It quickly became more costly, and more exciting, than I would have given myself permission to envision at the beginning. And that is exciting to me.

If we had started from the get-go by saying, "Let's go to Costa Rica," it would have been great. But that would have been the expectation. There is really something fabulous about being happy with things that are small, and then being wowed when they turn into so much more.

It's reminded me to do a little more anticipating. Anticipate the good things that God has in store for my life. Anticipate the adventures He has waiting for me. Because I just know that it will be so much more than I could ever envision it to be on my own.