In October 2021, I went on a birthday road trip with two friends. I had high hopes for this girl’s trip as we drove up to north Michigan, the fall colors of the trees getting more majestic with each mile. But instead of being the perfect girls get away, this trip was filled with a series of unfortunate events. Five minutes from our lake front rental, we got a flat tire. Once we finally got the spare tire on and drove to the rental, we got locked outside for an hour just as it started to rain.

The next day instead of going to Traverse City as we had planned, we had to go into the small nearby town to get the tire repaired. We decided to explore the town while we were waiting and there we found the national trout memorial. I am not a fan of Trout, but for some reason finding this big trout memorial just made me smile. It was like finding a hidden gem in a dark cave. From that moment on something shifted in my mindset. Instead of being frustrated that the trip was not going as I had envisioned, I saw both the good and the bad as all part of the journey and gifts from God.

Prior to this trip, I would get disheartened if things didn’t go as I expected. I would give up on something I was pursuing when the journey got difficult, thinking that the resistance and frustration were proof I was going the wrong way or failing. I thought that prospering meant it would be easy.

That trip had a profound impact on how I view prospering as we pursue our purpose and dreams with God. I learned to:

• Adopt an adventure mindset.
• See both the ups and downs as part of the journey.
• Find the hidden gems.
• Trust the process to God.
• Embrace the unexpected and go with the flow.
• That life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.
• The journey is better with friends.
• And to celebrate small wins.

Is there something that you are holding back on pursuing because the journey seems too difficult?

How could you adopt an adventure mindset and embraced both the ups and downs as prospering with God?

May You Prosper Always,

Jennifer