I recently took a weeks long-service leave and flew up to sunny Byron Bay to celebrate a dear friends’ 50th birthday.
I arrived and went and lay myself down next to the adults only pool of the five-star resort in a sun striped little ‘cabana’ with a towel, my bathers and a book. The sun hit my skin and I sighed a little sigh only Tasmanian’s understand and imagined my relaxing, warm, slow, spoilt week ahead.
Then the rain started.
I have never been through a flood before. It rained on and off for every one of my five days there. The first three days were the worst. Tuesday night was a night of torrential rain, thunder and lightning with very little sleep to be had. We were all asked to stay in our villas the next morning as we awoke to knee deep flooding. The roads in and out of Byron Bay were closed, as were the highways. Byron experienced its worst flooding in years with roads covered, shops inundated and restaurants closed. The staff at the resort were unable to get home, new staff unable to arrive. The pools were closed due to the floodwaters contaminating them. The ‘stream’ on the beach that could ‘easily’ be crossed to walk to Byron became a raging, dangerous torrent.
I can easily look at this holiday from two opposing, but still totally true, perspectives.
Perspective 1: My holiday was spoilt! I couldn’t even swim. I was land-locked. It wasn’t fair. What a waste of hard-earned long-service leave and money. I went through a natural disaster when I was supposed to be relaxing and holidaying. How could God allow this to happen?
Perspective 2: My holiday was totally different to what I expected! I will never forget it. I got to go through it with a wonderful group of friends. We’ll be talking and laughing about it for years! The staff were magnificent considering what they were living through, a natural disaster in their own backyard. I was safe and well-fed and there were free movies and an excellent library. Once the waters retreated, I got to go on a walk to the Lighthouse and had a delicious lunch on the beach. How blessed am I to have a God who takes care of me in every situation.
I am choosing perspective 2. Would I have still liked sunshine and relaxing days? Definitely. But in this life, we don’t always get what we expect. The ‘trick’ I believe is to challenge our small perspective, pull back before we react too strongly and look at the bigger picture.
Our lives are full of situations, decisions, and life events that we don’t expect. They can come in our family life, school changes, children’s behaviours and numerous other difficulties we encounter. Can I encourage us all, myself included, to take a breath or two and explore a different perspective. Can I also challenge us all to trust in a God who is there in the storm, gently encouraging us to lean back into his trust-worthy arms.
Annie Joy — Acting Deputy Principal