Gypsy Weekends

Several years ago, my very best friend and I started traveling to places we had never been to do things we had never done. For a few days every couple of months we became Gypsies. We danced, we sang, we laughed, oh gracious to Heaven do we laugh!

The rules of Gypsy weekends are quite simple: one person plans and the other person follows.

That's it.

The other person gets to know where they are going, but nothing more than a packing list shall be known to them. And let me tell you, sometimes those packing lists cause more fear than faith. But in all my Gypsy travels, I've never once been hurt. Well aside from that one time I sort of almost fell off a cliff-like structure and a little bit hurt my knee and hip. But I chalk that up to user error and not faulty planning.

Gypsy weekends have migrated into other relationships along the years, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. I've found the real key to these days where amazing memories are created is to be open, completely open to whatever is coming next.

This weekend is the first Gypsy weekend my friend and I have had in almost a year. As I was packing for this trip (and trying to find electrical tape as it was on the list), I could feel the Lord speaking into my heart. Despite my attempts to explain to Him that Gypsy weekends were not learning experiences, that I was done growing for the next 5 days, and that I wanted to finish finding everything on my packing list (including finding my fairy wings) and get excited about the things I didn't know were about to happen!

Let me get this straight. You are excited to race into the unknown with only a packing list and a destination, but you keep begging me to reveal the next step? That's not very Gypsy-like of you.

Huh. It seems the Lord just threw the Gypsy Gauntlet and He was right.

Then and there while looking for rubber ducks that would float upright, I was convicted. He has given me a packing list: avail myself of the Sacraments, spend time in His word, before His presence, and with Him, and walk in His passion. And He's given me a destination: Heaven.

The rest is just the journey.

Just as a true Gypsy would have it.