Temple Veil

What are the first thoughts running through your head every morning when you wake up? For some of us, we wake up excited and ready to start whatever we have planned for the day. For others, we dread the thought of leaving our cozy warm bed. Whether it's that hot cup of coffee, the amount of time left before arriving late to work or school, or what to do with a day off, our morning thoughts generally always consist of our plans and desires for that day.

Have you ever woke up wishing that all your plans for the day would be wrecked and everything would go wrong? Of course not, but nevertheless that sometimes happens. The question is not whether or not your plans will go wrong, but what your response will be when it does happen. Touring artists know for a fact that all plans are subject to change. In the lifestyle of living on the road, plans are never definite, and just when you think they are, something happens and plans change. While we always prepare for and even expect a change of plans during each tour, there is always one thing we never want to face, and that is cancellations.

Last minute cancellations cut the lifeline for touring artists. Even if the venue eventually honors their obligation to pay, legal things take time with no guarantee, and so a cancellation means no meals and lodging as well as being stuck in an unknown place for a day or more. This can be exciting or terrifying, depending on your personality, but either way, it's a huge inconvenience and ultimately frustrating.

Such was the case for us this past summer while we were touring the west coast. We were scheduled to fly from Portland, Oregon to Alaska to play at a weekend festival and then at a church on Sunday, before flying back to Oregon on Monday. Also, at this time, we needed $1000 to complete the next stage of the UnEARTH record. Two days before our flight, the entire event was cancelled, leaving us in Oregon, nearly the farthest place possible in the continental US from our residence in Tampa, FL. Having been so extremely excited to play in Alaska and now with nowhere to go for an entire weekend, and the $1000 we needed lingering over us, we tried not to let the disappointment and frustration get the best of us.

We googled area churches and randomly called one, explaining the situation and asking only for a floor to crash on; and in return, we offered to lead worship or play a few songs for their Sunday service. The pastor told us he would love to have us come and play a few songs for them, and he gave us an address to a place where he told us we could stay for the weekend. We followed our GPS to the address to discover he had put us up in an incredible 5 star hotel downtown. After checking in, he called and invited us to go out for steak with him. On Sunday, the congregation responded to our music in a huge way. We were so incredibly blessed just to see them blessed. After the service, the pastor handed us an envelope and said, "Here's a little something for you guys.", and then a member of the congregation took us out for some Thai food (one of our favorites!). When we got back to the hotel, we opened the envelope and found a check for $1000, the exact amount we needed for the record.

Things like this don't happen by following our own plans. We think we have it all figured out, and then panic when our plans fail, but there is a God who has a perfect plan. He knows our needs and what is best for our lives better than we know ourselves. You may never be stranded somewhere over 5,000 miles away from home, but it's guaranteed that somewhere along the line your plans will fail. Will you panic or allow God to carry out His plan? Proverbs 19:21 says "You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." We were given the opportunity to make some amazing friends, finish our record, and seriously touch many lives all through a mega failure of our own plans. Our challenge to you is to wake up in the morning sometime and ask God to ruin your plans for the day so that His purpose will prevail, and just see what happens.

Brysson

DeRock

~Temple Veil