Like me and plans, I'm big on them. Routines and plans. I like everything neat and tidy and according to schedule, but lucky for me my best ideas don't always go the way I hope.Take for instance the time we decided to ride donkeys up to the Taal Volcano in the Philippines. I did all the research, found the paid tours and we plugged "volcano" into the week's itinerary.
Nice and easy like that, not ever thinking torrential rains would flood Manila and we'd have to wait days to even drive to Tagaytay. When we did finally get there, it was rainy and gloomy, like my outlook. The fog was so thick it was hard to make an outline of the volcano through them. Darn.
Left with no other options, we decided to drive around and tour the town. I had read somewhere that nuns make ube in Tagaytay. It was supposed to be special because they used the proceeds to put poverty stricken women through college. So, off we went on a search for the Good Shepherd Factory through steep, winding roads, stopping people on the street to ask for directions. After finally reaching the factory we happened upon a sign on the side of the road for something called a zipline so we stopped to ask questions. No one wanted to do it, I mean strap yourself to a harness and get hurled through the air? No one except me and Hope! And then Donny! Hearts pounding, we made our way into the gates.
What a surprise. There was a park nestled in in the middle of two mountains and you could "fly" between them, through the forest! Hope, Donny and I got to zipline through the mist, way above the canopy of the Philippine jungle.
Hope and I held hands and I knew we'd never forget that day. Halfway in the air we let go, screamed and listened as our voices echoed through the trees, right into our memories. But that wasn't the end of it. While waiting for our complimentary Zipline photos, one of the government tour guides asked if we were interested in a boat ride on the lake. We shook our heads. Then we waited some more. Then we started asking questions again. Safe boat, restaurants nearby, come down and see for yourself. Hmmmm, since all of our other plans fell through, we decided that we might as well make the best of it. The weather was clearing up and maybe a boat ride would be fun.
So we drove down more winding mountainside to Taal Lake. The lake was massive and still, and we were just the opposite, a small boat full of laughing tourists, giddy from soaring.
Much to our amazement, the other end of the boat ride brought us to Taal Volcano and horses! The very thing we wanted to do in the first place was waiting to happen if we would...if I would just be patient and let life's course just do it's thing.
The moral of my story is that I may not always be able to control what happens, or even foresee it and that's totally ok. Everything in my life that has happened these past few years has been huge, but it's taught me that I'm not always the best judge of what's good for Boni. I can only change me, my outlook on things and my response to things. I cannot change what happens to me. Talk about a
gratitude entry for the evening. Thank you Lord, for everything you've given me, my husband, my children, my career, my friends, my family, my life. None of these things were in my planner, but all of them are better than what I could have put together on my own.
