Preaching, Puking, and Providence on St. Patty's Day

Preaching to the crowds in the middle of the street in downtown Raleigh, NC

My family decided to take a day trip to participate in an evangelistic outreach at the 2012 St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Raleigh, NC.  After preaching for 5 minutes in the middle of the street right before the parade started, I stepped down and got back together with my family and we started watching the parade.  As I was holding my one year old daughter and enjoying the festivities, I felt something hit my shoe.  When I looked down, my entire right side and her entire front was covered in vomit.  My little sweetie-pie had just vomited all over herself and me. 

I had vomit in my pockets, vomit all over the tracts I was going to hand out, and vomit inside my right shoe.  I cleaned sweetie pie up, cleaned myself up as best I could, and then we proceeded to try to find a bathroom because we figured more was eventually coming from our little sweetie pie.  Well, while we were waiting, our three year old was sitting in the stroller, doubled over, and gifted the sidewalk with a nice pile of puke for all to see.  I stood there and watching in amazement, as I, a medically trained man, was trying to calculate how in the world so much liquid could come out of such a small person.  It was then that my wife and I looked at each other thinking in stereo, "We gotta get outta here!"

As we drove home, I smelled like puke, my three year old was still puking in a bag in the back seat, and I only got to preach about 5 minutes.  Nevertheless, I had a great time with my family.  You might be thinking, "How is that possible?"  The answer follows:

I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. ¹³ I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:11-13 HCSB

The guy that wrote that knew a whole lot more about "hardship" than I do.  Puking children were nothing to him.  Just read his story of suffering in 2 Corinthians 11 and you'll see what I mean.  But like Paul, I am slowly learning that when things don't go as anticipated, just enjoy the ride anyways because I can be sure that my loving Heavenly Father has custom crafted events like these for my good and for His glory (Romans 8:28).