Mark 1:16-18
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother, Andrew, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him.
There is a treasure trove of wonderful adjectives that aptly describe my husband, Danny, but spontaneous isn't one of them. Being an engineer, his approach to anything we might embark upon, such as a trip to the mountains, is carefully planned weeks ahead of time. So, what happens early Tuesday evening of last week takes me completely by surprise.
We have our granddaughter, Virginia Rose, staying with us as our goal for Wednesday is to take her to the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgi; she's been there before, but has been begging to see some new planetarium shows. While I'm checking showtimes on the Tellus website, Danny is, unbeknownst to me, looking at the upcoming weather in the Great Smoky Mountains and checking cabin availability.
Out of the blue, he announces, "Virginia, Martha, let's go to the mountains tomorrow!"
"What???" You're kidding, right?"
"Not at all," Danny assures me. "Call Sarah to see if it's alright to take Virginia to the mountains for a day or two. As soon as you find out, I can book a cabin."
Stunned by this spur-of-the-moment move on his part, I contact my daughter to get her permission. Sarah quickly assents, as she knows that Virginia has long desired to travel with us on mountain getaways. The die is cast!
Appointments are cancelled or postponed early Wednesday morning as we scramble with the packing of clothes, toiletries and food items. Miraculously, we are ready to roll shortly before noon. After a quick run by Virginia's house to pick up her jacket (yes, it's going to be that chilly!!!), we're off!
Virginia, needless to say, is beside herself with excitement. As we travel north, and the mountains loom larger and larger, her eyes are filled with awe and wonder at their ancient majesty. We make our traditional pit stop at the most beautiful rest area we've ever encountered in our travels, and Virginia enjoys the opportunity to explore.
Further down the road in the Nantahala Gorge, we visit the Nantahala Outdoor Center.
Next stop? The cabin!
To be continued . . .
~
In the scripture featured above, we see the future disciples drop everything in the spontaneity of the moment to follow Jesus. What a compelling presence our Lord must have exuded for grown men to abandon their work, duties and obligations in the everyday, to seek His will for their lives! Much like Danny being willing to risk an unplanned trip, trusting that God is working it all out for good, so these men embarked without hesitation upon a journey that would change their hearts and minds for eternity.
May we never hesitate to drop everything when Jesus is calling us.
Amen!
So glad you all enjoyed the trip to the mountains, Martha. Lovely memories for the future.
ReplyDeleteI have always struggled with the bible passage you quote. Jesus asks some fishermen to follow Him, and they do. I can't understand that. Peter was married, he had a mother-in-law. How do we understand his instant decision to follow Jesus? Escaping my mother-in-law might be incentive enough for me to follow Jesus; but would I really leave my family and just go? Who would provide for them? Who would pay the mortgage? Would would drive them to the shops and school?
Martha, this is a very difficult passage to understand.
God bless.
It is a difficult passage to understand, Victor, I agree. Maybe, we should interpret it as an instant willingness to leave self behind in the presence of Jesus, to follow His lead willingly no matter what. I don't think the Lord meant to abandon those we love, but to bring them along with us into this new life of hope and salvation.
DeleteYes, we had such a great time in the mountains. More to come!
Love and blessings!
Amazing memories...
ReplyDeleteI love the spontaneity. I am a planner as well, however, there have been occasions where I have told my family to pack an overnight bag, we are leaving... Where are we going they ask... I don't know yet, but we will know when we get there. Some of our fondest memories have come out of these little excursions.
I need to be even more eager and available to move when called by God. Often times the busyness of life does not lend itself to the impromptu calls that I should be listening for.
I think it's great, Ryan, that you've had your own share of spontaneous excursions. Such fun! And yes, we all need to be prepared to listen to God's call to us in the day-to-day. The noise of our busy days can become so overwhelming at times, can't it? Let us keep our hearts and ears open!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Woo-hoo! Like my father before me, I'm totally like your Danny.
ReplyDeleteLittle wonder, I'm scratching my head to understand both examples of spontaneity. Perhaps the short answer is simply, "Faith."
I'm SO looking forward to Part II!
I hear you, Mevely, because I'm a planner, too. And I think your answer, "Faith," is precisely right. When we have faith and trust in God, we can follow where He leads.
DeleteGlad you're looking forward to the next installment.
Love and blessings!
Martha, hi! Don't you just love being serendipitous?
ReplyDeleteIt keeps us young ...
;-}
It does that, indeed, Linda! This was actually one of the most fun trip to the mountains we've ever taken. So wonderful to see it all anew through Virginia's eyes.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Just when you think you know someone! I loved the post and the photos, and I especially loved how Danny surprised you!
ReplyDeleteI loved it too, Galen - so out of character for him, but I'm glad he went with his gut. What a great three days we had!
DeleteLove and blessings!
I have this crazy idea that God is as much at home with "the plan" as He is for our spur-0f-the-moment acts. I think He loves spontaneity. And I believe He was absolutely thrilled with VR's excitement for His creation. Kudos to you and Danny
ReplyDeleteOh, Virginia's excitement and enthusiasm were absolutely overwhelming, Bill! I found myself seeing the mountains and the cabin through her eyes, as if I'd never been to these before, but more about that in my next installment. :) And God certainly was with us in our travels and adventures. I've realized just how much fun spontaneity can be!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, what an amazing and beautiful post. There's something to be said for doing things on the spur of the moment, and your trip to the mountains was a true blessing for everyone.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Scripture you quoted above: I think there was some degree of planning involved. Jesus prayed over who to call as His disciples and had already invested time in teaching and interacting with these men. They knew that at some point they might be called to truly walk with Jesus. So yes, there was a bit of spontaneous adventure but not as much as one might think.
Love and blessings!
Kim, I absolutely love your insight into the depth of this scripture! I will urge Victor to check out your comment here, as this passage has been a bit of a stumbling block for him, one that I completely understand.
DeleteYes, prayer DID set the stage, and we do need to hold that fact close to our hearts. And when God calls? May we be willing to follow Him without reservation. Danny following that God nudge turned an ordinary week into an extraordinary one.
Love and blessings!
I agree with Kim that Jesus must have prayed, (and knew), who would respond to His calling. Also, probably these men already knew of Jesus and had heard Him teach; so when He called them, they followed. However, (here is the difficult bit), these people already had a life before Jesus. They were fishermen, tax collectors and so on ... they had wives, mothers-in-law (Peter) and no doubt children. How did they leave all this behind to follow Jesus? Who looked after the wife and kids? Who paid the mortgage, (I hope the interest rate was lower than now)? Who took the kids to school? How did their families feel when they left their homes to follow Jesus up and down the land?
DeleteLet’s assume God spoke to you (and me) right now, in a dream, or a vision, and we were certain it was Him speaking. Just as certain as Abraham, Moses, Noah, Mary and Joseph were when God spoke to them. You know where I’m getting to …
And God asked us to become a missionary or a volunteer helper somewhere far off our community; in another country.
Would we be able to do it? Would we leave our spouse and family behind and follow Jesus wherever He asks us to go? Would we give up our job, leaving our children and move on to a new life?
Some people, like Mother Teresa, do that. But she was not married. She made a decision just for one. The disciples, you, and me have families. How do we answer the call of God? If we say "No"; are we lacking in some respect? Are we doomed because of our hesitation, our refusal, our love for our families?
This is a great post, Martha. Thank you.
God bless.
You have offered much food for thought, Victor, and I so appreciate the time you've taken here to write at length. Hope all the readers here will take time to ponder the questions and ideas you've posed here, my friend.
DeleteLove and blessings!
oh wow Martha what a gift Danny gave you all and so exciting to see it through her eyes too. She won't be forgetting this adventure for a long time and I bet neither will you both. What a delight!
ReplyDeleteOh, Jean, such a delight it was! We did get that incredible gift to see anew, through Virginia's eyes, just how amazing God's creation is. She absolutely delighted in each and every experience. And I'm with you, that she will remember this adventure for years to come.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I am so happy for you all to have this spontaneous trip to the mountains! what a blessing for all, especially Virginia!! I know she has been in "high heaven" all week long. I'm sure you have chronicled every day with more pictures to come, but I can see it is the trip of a lifetime for this sweet little girl. She is so blessed to have you as grandparents!!!!
ReplyDeletePamela, we were so blessed to have this beautiful granddaughter with us to experience our "comfort zone" in an entirely new dimension. Her joy and wonder were contagious! Can't wait for you to join me in the sequels to come. I know your spirits will be lifted, guaranteed!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Isn't it fun when after all these years, our guys can still surprise us! What a fun outing! I love it! And I love your analogy to the spontaneous response of the disciples to Jesus. Blessings, my friend!
ReplyDeleteIt is so much fun, Deb, and to see Danny's childlike excitement at this prospect was worth as much as the trip upon which we embarked. Glad you liked the analogy, my friend!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Oh, how wonderful! I love times like that. And, yes, Jesus' call is a call so compelling we cannot ignore it. So thankful you are able to get away, my friend, and hope you enjoyed/are enjoying every moment!
ReplyDeleteYes, Cheryl, we did enjoy every single moment of our short, but fun-filled, trip to the mountains. More installments are on the way!
DeleteAnd Jesus' call is one we can't refuse. May He fill each our hearts with His love and grace.
Love and blessings!
How fun! What wonderful grandparents. Blessings and your time with Virginia.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, Beckie, we had a blast! Stay tuned for more adventures. :)
DeleteLove and blessings!
What fun you guys must have had...and I simple love Virginia Rose name. If I was young and having a girl I would use her name, it has such a melody ring to it and so southern too. Love the pictures.
ReplyDeleteIt does have a definite Southern flavor, Betty, and I love her name, too. We had the time of our lives in the mountains; so glad Danny chose to be impulsive for once. :)
DeleteLove and blessings!