Posted: Thursday, July 29, 2010 12:54 pm

'Flexibility' can make even the craziest of times OK
It has been an extremely busy summer this year. Most summers do end up a little crazy from time to time, but this summer has already taken the cake. Why, you ask? Well, let me share a little of what has and is taking place this summer.

1. It all started with the graduation of our twin sons from Brentwood High and all the festivities that surround high school graduation.
2. Two weeks later I took 10 young men on a 17-day spiritual formation trip to hike, bike and climb Scotland, our Holy Adventure.
3. Upon arrival back home I got the honor of driving to Lyles, Tenn. each evening to keynote a camp full of young kids. (Thank you Beacon Light tea room for your biscuits!)
4. With the completion of that, we had the pure pleasure of being a sponsor for Sonshine Tour 2010, a 10-day concert and ministry tour on the Gulf Coast with 105 of senior high kids.
5. Arriving home from tour, we finalized the leasing of our home and next week move into an empty family home by Radnor Lake (creative college financing!).
6. So, we are painting hard and fast for the movers to show up next Wednesday and then prep our Foxboro home for its new family.
7. And finally, the following week we get to pack up and take all three of our kids off to UT and be blessed with the honor of three tuitions.

It has been crazy, but it has been a learning experience. The key to our sanity this summer has been found in one word, “flexibility”.

We had all sorts of plans for this summer. Not on the list, however, were things like speaking at a camp, leasing one home, prepping another and moving in at a two-week’s notice.

Not on the list during our Holy Adventure were things like weather that literally blew us off the mountain, a couple of car exchanges and a bout of “travelers revenge”.

Not on the list for tour were things like rooms that couldn’t hold half the 105 kids, singing outside in 100-degree heat and tar balls on the beach for our afternoon off.

But on the list of qualities held high was “flexibility.” As a result, the events took place, their impact was profound, the blessings flowed and the summer has been awesome … stressed from time to time, but awesome in the end all because we and the kids we have dealt with were flexible.

Flexibility provides room for the spirit to work, it sometimes salvages an activity and other times supersede the expectations. Flexibility provides an opportunity for unexpected growth and creativity. And most important, the need for flexibility reminds us that we aren’t done, we don’t have all the answers and we aren’t in control.

It is kind of like when Jesus started preaching on the mountain to a few folk. That few folk grew until he had a mountainside full of folk hanging on his every word. But, no one had planned for that size crowd or had made the right preparations for lunch. It called for some flexibility in the planning and the schedule. From that flexibility came a boy with a small amount of fish and bread. Jesus blessed the food and fed the crowd. It all worked out and generations have been blessed by the telling of the event for 2000 years.

But what if the disciples had not been flexible? What if the just said “no” and whisked Jesus off?

Just another thought from the shallows….