Geocaching

My husband and I used to enjoy geocaching. We would seek out the perfect locations to search for the cache and we’d head off to find the treasure that another geocacher had strategically placed.

We found, too, that typically there would be a great photo op nearby as well. So for each of us, we found satisfaction in this hobby. It was something we could do together and see some beautiful scenery in Colorado.

My brother, Billy, came for his annual visit during this time period and we thought he might enjoy the hunt as well. We planned a couple of trips out to look for these items.  

We even put together a cache to hide. We found the container, chose the items to place inside, and documented the hiding place of our cache. We found it to once again be a successful activity for each of us to enjoy.

On our final day out, we ventured into the mountains a bit more and ended up on a one lane road with the steep mountain above and below us. The problem? Another vehicle joined us on the road from the opposite direction. We were face to face with a larger SUV with very little options.

I pulled as far to the right as possible and the other SUV drove around us. I was thankful to hug the mountain. I surely didn’t want to drive out over the edge. Just a few hundred feet away, we stopped, found our cache and returned to our vehicle to head home.

It was then we knew there was a problem. An odd sound drew us from the vehicle. We changed the flat tire and began moving. Unfortunately, a second tire was flat. We had no option but to continue driving with the flat tire. There was no cell phone coverage. No one was passing our way (except a young man on a dirt bike who stopped and said, “Bummer!” Yeah, we got that).

We slowly made our way off the mountain. It was a long day. It took hours. Frustrating hours. Disappointing hours. But my brother coined a phrase that day that I have used a few times. “A good story is better than a good time.”

What does that phrase mean to you? Hopefully it isn’t your life story. Hopefully, like me, there have been a few times in your life when things didn’t go as planned and in the long run found some interesting bits of wisdom gleaned from the situation.

Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”I have made plans. Sometimes my plans don’t turn out the way I wanted or wished, but I know I’ve learned something each time my plans have failed.

My Dad has been asking me this question for as long as I can remember. “What did you learn?” If we cannot find some wisdom or lessons from our failures, we are doomed to continue to fail and make the same mistakes over and over.

But I think more importantly, we can ask ourselves, “How can God use this?” If our story cannot be used by God, it will not be of value. His purpose must prevail in these situations in our lives.

We don’t geo cache any more. It was a fad for us. But I know there will be another adventure lurking around the corner and we just might say, “A good story is better than a good time.”

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna