Unexpected Obstacles by Carol Harrison

Speaking at retreats, events and camps gives me an opportunity to share stories from the Bible and real life experiences and sometimes share stories or books I have written as well.

A few years ago I was asked to speak at a weekend mother/daughter camp in Northern Saskatchewan. I had the privilege of speaking at this event two other years and knew what to expect. The age range could be from six to eighty. The weekend had a theme based on the summer camp theme from that year and I would need to prepare, write and speak three messages.

This year the opportunity to connect with mothers and daughters came with a small built in obstacle - a short time of preparation since I would be filling in for the intended speaker who had become ill. I trusted God to provide the messages on the theme of Surrender and said yes.

I wrote an outline about living intentionally with three headings: Retreat, Rough Road, Restoration.
In the second session of rough road I wrote these words, "Accepting each day as it comes, knowing God is still in control. Our day starts, things spiral out of our control, the day ends unlike what we planned."

As I wrote and planned my breathing became more laboured. My asthma flared up - another huge obstacle. I used my medication and my home nebulizer but they brought only minor relief at first. My husband wanted me to call the camp and tell them I could not honor my promise to come. I was sick. I refused. With only ten days until the retreat I did not want to leave them scrambling to find yet another speaker. I kept trusting God to help me breathe.

It became apparent that this obstacle loomed larger than it first appeared. Nothing eased my breathing enough to make my husband comfortable with me driving over two hours away from the city by myself and then speaking. I also knew my room would be upstairs which added to the concerns. Yet I trusted that God had a plan for this opportunity to share during this weekend. I just did not know what it should or could look like.

My oldest daughter Lorilee agreed to attend the event with me and do the driving. She could also help monitor my breathing and be a voice of reason to help me quit being stubborn and seek more medical help if necessary. I loved the idea of attending together and then I realized this opportunity could take on a different look. We could speak together, sharing from a mother and adult daughter perspective.

The camp director loved the idea. My husband and I loved the idea. My daughter warmed to it and I sent her the outline and notes I had written even as fear of doing something like speaking to a group for the first time filled her mind. We spent a week working together on messages and object lessons. We prayed about my health, for open hearts of all attending the weekend and that we would speak the words God wanted us to speak.

We retreated into God's Word and then to the lake for the weekend. We had bumps in the road for timing and health but we were available for whatever God had planned. The obstacle turned into an opportunity to hear my daughter share details of some tough stuff she had gone through as a teen and young adult - details I never heard before. We shared how these tough times had affected us individually, as a family and in our mother/ daughter relationship. Then we talked about God's work in our lives with each other and the weekend's participants.

When I wrote about the rough road I did not know that God would use the obstacle of my lack of breath in a way to  strengthen my relationship with my oldest daughter as we both surrendered to him.

 We closed the last session with these words "As we leave our time of retreat and go out to live intentionally to be all God plans for us to be, let's remember these verses from Ephesians 3:20,21
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen."

As a speaker, published author and storyteller, Carol Harrison is passionate about mentoring people of all ages and abilities to help them find their voice and reach their fullest potential. She shares from her heart, telling stories from real life experiences and God’s Word to encourage people and help them find a glimmer of hope no matter what the circumstances. She believes we need to continuously grow in our walk with God and lives out her storytelling passion by speaking at women’s events and retreats, Bible Camps as well as school assemblies and church events. Carol is a wife, mother of four adult children and grandmother to twelve. She makes her home is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.