The last few weeks could easily be described as chaotic and stressful. I feel like I just ran around like a crazy person from one responsibility to the next appointment. Yet, in the midst of all the chaos, God was consistently teaching me to have a peaceful heart. God was showing me that my peace comes from Him and not my circumstances. This isn't a new idea, but neither is it one that I have been known to put into practice on a daily basis.
One of the big ways God has been teaching me to have peace is to be grateful in each and every circumstance. Thessalonians 5:18 has really come alive to me over the last few months. I'm learning to look at each moment in my day and seek a way to be grateful in it.
While I knew God was working on teaching me peace and gratefulness, I didn't know that I was about to have a chance to practice them in more extreme circumstances than normal.
My friends, Sue & Meggan, and I had been talking about a trip to Budapest to go to IKEA. Meggan and I had been holding out on some things for our apartment that we really wanted to get at IKEA. Sue also just moved into an apartment and liked the idea of an IKEA run. We were originally thinking we would have to make the trip there and back on the same day because we have all been so busy. Somehow, we all ended up with last Thursday & Friday free and decided to turn it into an overnight trip. We booked a place to stay and headed out Thursday morning for a little time away. We were all excited about a chance to rest, relax and enjoy some stress-free time. Life had been getting really overwhelming for me and wasn't much better for Sue or Meggan.
Thursday was wonderful. We had a slightly rainy, but nice drive to Budapest. Enjoyed walking around the city, shopping a little, eating some yummy Italian food and a walk along the Danube river. Then we returned to our room early to read and relax before a good night's sleep.
Sue & I woke up early on Friday and went downstairs to a coffee shop that's owned by a church whose guest house/apartment we were staying in. We settled into some comfy chairs to sip our coffee and have some devotional time. We were each reading, writing and praying on our own. However, when Sue read her devotional for that day she was amazed and told me that she just knew God was preparing her for something. He kept giving her the verse from Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Sue had also told me the day before that she felt like God was preparing her for something. As we sat in that coffee shop she told me again, "I think something's about to happen to me. God is preparing me for something. I just don't know what it's going to be." I simply replied, "I guess we'll have to wait and see." I was thinking that at least we would know God was in it when it did happen.
After our devotion time, we finished getting ready and packed up so we could check out of our room. We walked to my car and tossed the bags in the trunk, being sure the trunk cover was in place and nothing was visible from the windows. We toured a bit more of the city, taking pictures and enjoying the architecture of Budapest. Then headed back to the car so we would have time to stop at IKEA on our way home.
We walked up the busy street toward my car around 1:30pm. As we approached my car I realized something was wrong with the rear windshield; sure enough it was busted. Someone had broken into my car.
Suddenly what was supposed to be our relaxing getaway turned into something stressful. I unlocked the doors and opened the trunk. Initially it looked like most of our stuff was still there. Something was missing though; we soon realized it was Sue's backpack. It had her camera in it. She hadn't seen a need to carry her camera around when she was with Meggan and I who were snapping pictures of just about everything. We all stood there slightly dumbfounded and overwhelmed. I think I said something like, "What do we even do!?!?" We were in Hungary, where they speak Hungarian (one of the most difficult languages in the world, and I'm not just saying that!) Our phones didn't even work once we crossed the border into Hungary. I suddenly missed America and my small town Kansas life desperately.
After a little while we decided to drive back to the church/cafe. We knew they spoke english there and maybe they could tell us what we should do. What we found out is that it could take around 4 hours at the police station just to fill out a report and generally the reports result in a whole lot of nothing. Well, I had no desire to spend 4 hours in a Hungarian police station for nothing. So, we cleaned it up the best we could and headed out.
We were all overwhelmed and upset by the situation, but also kept claiming our trust in God and His plan. Sue now knew what God had been preparing her for. I now realized God had wanted me to be prepared as well, not just to support Sue, but also for myself.
Deciding what to do after was a bit overwhelming. We had still wanted to go to IKEA. That HAD been the main goal of our trip to Budapest. Being a bit stubborn, we were not about to let that crazy criminal who robbed us ruin our entire trip. So, we headed to IKEA anyway, entered the parking garage and backed my car up as close to a wall as possible. We took all the valuables in with us and pushed them around in a cart.
Once we emerged from IKEA, I was beginning to feel even more overwhelmed. I was so upset that this person had ruined our desire for a stress-free, relaxing, refreshing getaway. We also had experienced some difficulty in crossing the border on the way into Hungary because Meggan doesn't have a temporary residence card (visa.) So, we were also facing the fear of reaching the border with a busted out rear windshield and the possibility of them not allowing Meggan to re-enter Romania. We knew the enemy was working extra hard to get to us. So, before we even left our parking space, we prayed. Well, I tried to pray. It was all getting to be a little too much for me and I started crying. Sue & Meggan then prayed and I composed myself so I could drive.
Before we left for the trip I we had each made some CDs with road trip music. My CD happened to be in the car at the time because I knew it had some worship music on it. One of the first songs that came on was called "Cast my Cares on You" by Tim Timmons. After it played for a bit I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I decided to laugh because I needed to be able to drive and I had a feeling the tears would interfere with seeing the road. All I could think was, "Thank you, God."
Here's the link to the song if you'd like to listen:
Cast My Cares - Tim Timmons
In the end. I chose to give thanks. I chose to be grateful that we went through the whole experience because it is an even greater lesson of finding my peace in God alone and not my circumstances. Altho, I can't say that I was at perfect peace the entire time, my heart WAS resting in the Lord. I do trust that He is sovereign and He can use this experience for His good. At this point, it was in the very least a character building experience. It was also a challenge to practice giving thanks in the worst of circumstances. Here's the thankful list I wrote the night we got home:
I choose to be grateful!
Grateful to have a car, busted or not.
Grateful to have a little time away with Sue & Meg.
Grateful we were safe while driving to Budapest and back.
Grateful Meggan got back across the border into RO.
Grateful we weren't freezing cold on the way home.
Grateful none of us brought our laptops on the trip.
Grateful they didn't steal more from my car.
Grateful we all had our passports with us and not in the car.
Grateful we got to go to IKEA.
Grateful for friends to lean on.
Grateful that God was preparing our hearts.
Grateful that God never leaves me nor forsakes me!
Grateful that my car was broken into because it's helping me learn to trust God's sovereignty and learn to have a peaceful heart in the midst of chaotic circumstances.
