Let's be real

I'm going to be real, which is what I typically try to be. Our happy family photos on facebook are leggit. Let's be honest, not every moment is pretty smiles though. Typically society filters and guards what we put out there for people to know and see. 

Our family felt called to "go out the box" for Christmas this year. We sacrificed time with our extended family to go bless people we didn't know. Instead of buying gifts for people, we rented a hotel room and went to Greenville, SC for family-time and ministry. Our friend, Stephen Jeffrey, told us about Miracle Hill Ministries so we made that our mission for Christmas. 

As we were driving up to the Marriott that we found on Hotwire.com for $70/night, there was a Walgreens on the corner. I said, "I like when I see a drug store close by." Joseph thought I was joking, but I was serious. Little did I know how frequently we would be visiting it.  

Our gift wrapping opportunity at Greenville Rescue Mission fell through. We were a couple days late or something. We walked in with our 6 rolls of wrapping paper and there were no shoe boxes to wrap. We did get to walk through the nice facility where the individuals stay for 7 months as they get back on their feet. 

Feeling defeated, Joseph prayed in the van and then we contacted the Overcomer's Center, a similar facility for 60-men battling addictions of substance abuse. We signed up to serve dinner on Christmas Eve, but there were slots open on Christmas Eve Eve so we went there a day early instead. We drove to Greenville to serve and 'gosh darn-it' we were going to do it! 

We couldn't take pictures inside, but we were given a tour first, then we waited in the dining hall for the men to line up for dinner. The kids handed out napkins and desserts. Joseph served dinner in the kitchen, and I monitored in the dining hall. The kids are social and enjoy talking so they were right at home, making the men smile. We told the Overcomers Center we would be back the next night because that was the plan. 

I'm not going to sugar coat anything. The first night in the hotel, the kids drove me crazy! They talked non-stop, they were cooped up in the van during the trip and then in a hotel room. They were busy bodies. I was so tired; therefore, we cut the lights off at 8:30, but they weren't quite tired so they giggled and fidgeted for a while. We had two full sized beds, which weren't "big enough" for kicking and restless kids. 

The first visit to Walgreens was for a tooth brush because Joseph forgot his. You know how you brush your teeth before going on a trip, but put it back in the cabinet out of routine instead of in your bag? Yeah, that happened. 

Then, I sent Joseph to buy a pregnancy test because my period was a week late and I was having all kinds of symptoms. We literally sang Rita Springer's lyrics "Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus" with arms outstretched when the test was negative. 

Then Lincoln had a bad consistent cough that wouldn't go away for several weeks so we bought some cough syrup. Then Lincoln was up all Saturday night/Sunday morning with a fever and said his ears hurt.

We contemplated not going to church on Sunday, but ended up buying some Tylenol pain reliever and went anyways. I said, "Satan isn't going to win." We were able to do some sight-seeing after church while he was medicated. 

Once we got to the room, Lincoln wanted to sleep so he took a 3-hour nap. I see Grey playing and whispering quietly with her babies and scratching her head. I called her over and she had live head lice crawling around! I woke Joseph up (who was also napping), and made another trip to the drugstore for lice shampoo. Around this time was when we were supposed to be heading over to serve dinner for the second night in a row so Joseph had to make an apologetic call to cancel our volunteering duties. 

We tracked down housekeeping to change our bedding, take out or trash, and replace our drinking glasses. Of course, all of our heads start itching just thinking about lice (like yours is now). Joseph did actually have a bug in his!

The rest of the evening was pretty calm. We listened to the LIVE  Christmas Eve service at our church on facebook, watched Christmas movies on T.V., and read our scripture on the advent calendar. 

Every 4-hours we were pumping Tylenol into Lincoln because he was in tears once it wore off. 

On Christmas day, we drove through Columbia on our way back to Beaufort to visit our friend who we haven't seen in a while. The original plan was to get a hotel in Columbia, but we cut the trip short because we felt it was just best to get back to our own home, rooms, and beds. 

I took Lincoln to the ER once we returned to Beaufort on Christmas Day. He was given antibiotics to help his ears.

Now, I just need a vacation after the "vacation".

I type all this because I question what we did wrong to have so much negative come against us. Were we not supposed to go? 
Did we not pray the "spiritual warfare prayer" enough? Did we forget to put on a piece of armor? Did Satan win since he kept us from ministering in all the ways we had hoped? Were all the attacks to be expected? Do the attacks mean we were doing everything right?  

I kind of know the answer already. 

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1:2-3

The trip was pretty uncomfortable. Satan tried to discourage us and we were pretty exhausted from fighting. I must say, we were victorious. It could have been worse. Despite everything coming against us, Joseph and I worked cohesively. We prayed for healing and direction, tried to keep Christ first, and remain positive. We were even able to laugh a few times! We each gave the other person a chance to recharge downstairs in the lobby for an hour or so by themselves. 

This morning, Grey still had "bugs" in her hair, twice, even after treatment! There are duffel bags to unpack and linens and laundry to wash. Our whole family is home on this day after Christmas. The adults are both off work and the two kids are not 100%. Trying to ease back hustle into health and normalcy!  

Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad-for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. I Peter 4:12

I do know that spiritual warfare is more intense during Christmas because Christ is being recognized, praised, worshiped. So I'm certain Satan had tactics to reverse and terminate what we were doing. 

What scriptures do you reference during spiritual warfare?

R