“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself.” Ephesians 4:14-15

In taking our vacation this year, Katie and I decided to take Granddaughter Gema along with us. Having only flown in a plane once before at the age of 2, she was looking forward to the trip. None of us, including her, anticipated a problem. We probably should have. You see, Gema is prone to getting car-sick and often suffers from motion sickness. But WE were going by Jet!

It all started as a slight case of nausea, as her mom drove us to the airport. But Gema was feeling a lot better by the time we boarded the plane. We sat her beside the window for the exciting view and she was all smiles as we lifted off into the air! That is until about 20 minutes later when the Captain announced what Gema didn’t want to hear. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride folks… ALL THE WAY!”

I felt SO bad for her, wishing there was something we could do to help. None of us thought car sickness would transfer to a PLANE! If she had known, she could have taken medicine that helps with that condition. But she had none, and neither did the flight attendants. Covering herself, she closed the window and leaned against it. I couldn’t resist a picture. She laughed after she saw it later.

As far as I can tell, just about EVERYONE EXPECTS that life should be smooth, fun, easy and comfortable. You don’t believe that? TRY Listen to comments of people traveling along life’s road. Or listen closely to yourself! I know I whine and moan a LOT when things get hard or absurd around me. That whining or complaining comes from an expectation of something BETTER I had anticipated.

Jesus pulls no punches. NO WHERE in the Bible does He promise a care free, fun, healthy, untroubled existence! NO WHERE! The sad part is, when things go wrong the tendency is to blame HIM for every nauseous moment, believing that He has the ability to fix anything… which is absolutely not true! His promise is to go THROUGH the waves of turbulence WITH us. NOT to eliminate them!

Gema learned more about her weaknesses and will be better prepared the next time. We will too. Learning and growing in His Truth with Him as our leader is EXACTLY what this bumpy ride of life is all about! Are YOU looking to Him for life’s travel directions? Or are you just winging it?