No Problem!

If you have not ever had the opportunity to visit the beautiful island of Jamaica, go ahead and make it your next vacation destination! Jessica and I decided last year that for our anniversary this year we wanted to celebrate by taking a trip together to a Sandals Resort in Jamaica. We looked at all of our options and made our decision to book 5 Nights at Sandals Ochi. We realized that once we started talking about going, a few of our closest friends hopped on board and so we made a group trip out of it. So while you are making Jamaica a priority on your travel list, go ahead and put traveling with friends at the top as well. You have not truly traveled until you have done so with your best friends.

Each day that passed leading up to this vacation made it that much more enjoyable! Each one of us would talk about all of our plans for what we wanted to do when we got there, and share how excited we were to get all of our outfits planned out. We created a “Jamaica Vacation” group text so we could remind each other everyday how many more days we had. I think one thing that we could all do a little more of is slowing down to enjoy the moments leading up to the moment. Planning a vacation like this a year in advance gives you something to look forward to, we have already booked our next one and the fun has started all over again!

This little journey started out so beautifully! Jessica and I had it all planned out with how we were going to facilitate our morning. We packed our bags completely the night before, which in reality we started packing weeks before we left but this was just to make sure that everything was complete before the next day. We got up early, loaded the car with our luggage as if we were never coming back home, and set out down the road to drop Maddox off at school before our journey to Atlanta. We made sure to have all of the Caribbean vibes going with our playlist blasting, it was a sight to be seen.

We made our way to Atlanta and checked into our hotel for the evening so that we could make sure we were at the airport in plenty of time the next day for our direct flight. Our car ride was 4.5 hours of pure joy! We had such a great time jamming out to our music and talking on the way up. Once we were checked in, our plan was to have dinner with our friends and enjoy the evening together on our first official night of vacation. So that is not exactly how it went down.

We were checked into our hotel for about 20 minutes when Jessica’s phone rang with Madison calling to ask us the question that absolutely nobody ever wants to be asked when they have just drove 4.5 hours away from home. “Hey, did you guys happen to leave a suitcase at home?” Umm, no! Absolutely not, there was no way that was possible because I woke up this morning extra early just to be sure and pack the car to perfection so we would have enough room to comfortably carpool with our friends. I am certain that it was just an extra suit…. Wait? 1…2…3…. Carry on, personal item, where is my suitcase? Cue the meltdown….

What is a true vacation without some sort of challenge right? We had to come up with a solution! Do we overnight the luggage to Jamaica so that it is there tomorrow when we check in? Nope, UPS nor FedEX had deliveries for the resort until later in the week. Did we know anyone coming to Atlanta? Nope, everyone was with us already. Can I just leave it? Nope, it has everything you own inside of it! It’s not an option, I have to go back and get it.

It is in this moment that I am torn between being really thankful that I found out before I made it to the resort and then being really upset at myself because typically I am more thorough than I had been that day. Fortunately we were able to ask one of our kids to be generous enough to meet us half way with it that evening so that it would not be such a long journey back home and then back again. So, back into the car I go! But, I learned that it’s no problem. It’s just a situation.

Jamaica made an impression on us in more ways than one. From the time that we were welcomed by the locals at the airport to the time that we stepped foot back on the airplane, we experienced true kindness from the locals. Everyone made us feel as if we were part of their culture. We got to experience exactly what it meant to live with a no problem mentality.

Some of the sayings that you will hear most when visiting Jamaica is “Yeah Mon” “No problem!” And “It’s just a situation!” All of which may seem simple when you first hear them, but when you get to experience living them out, it takes it to another level.

On our journey from the airport in Montego Bay to Ochi, our driver shared some of the local history and fun facts along the way. One of the things that he made sure to inform us is that on the island, there is a no problem mentality. Things that seem to put us out of sorts are no worries on the island of Jamaica. I found myself starring out the window thinking back to my reaction on leaving my suitcase, in the grand scheme of everything in life, it was truly no problem. It was refreshing to experience a culture with different priorities than what we are used to.

In that moment on the bus, it was far more about being with our people and sharing those moments together that we had planned for and looked forward to for an entire year. Sometimes we can get too carried away in the things that don’t really matter and miss out on those that matter most. Thank you for that reminder Jamaica!

I cannot say enough good things about staying at a Sandals resort! This was our first experience and we enjoyed it so much that we are already booked for our next one! The quality of the resort in our opinion was 10/10!

We decided to stay in the Butler Village which really made for a nice personalized touch at this resort. Our butler Samuel was truly the best! He made sure that every detail of our stay was taken care of each day. That is one of the great benefits of having the butler service, they are able to make all of your dinner reservations, excursions, and keep your room stocked with all your favorite drinks and snacks. If you are planning on staying at Sandals Ochi, I would recommend if you are wanting to stay in a villa, make sure you do the butler option. This resort is so large that it can be challenging to maneuver from one place to the next but the butler will be more than glad to pick you up with a golf cart escort!

One of the great things about staying in a villa at the resort is the access it gives you to having your own private pool. This was probably our favorite thing to do every evening together as a group after we ate dinner was to meet back up at the private pool and enjoy the evening together, swimming and dancing!

There were so many great moments that we got to share with one another on this journey together. There were those moments that we laughed so hard we could not breathe and then those moments that we cried together as we got to share some of our life stories with one another.

Jamaica taught us that life is about more than all of our “problems” that we allow to consume our thoughts most days. Being together and enjoying one another is far more important than stressing about making sure that we have the right thing to wear or our home is picture perfect. Those things should be secondary to the love and joy that we get to share with our people. Life should not be about striving for the wrong thing. The moments with friends around the dinner table and the late night swimming with your significant other should take priority over rushing off to the next event that we didn’t even want to go to in the first place.

I have to admit that this was one of my most enjoyable vacations that I have had in my life, and it was not because of the beautiful scenery or the luxury resort, but it was because I finally relaxed enough to let myself experience the moment. I was learning what it meant to have the no problem mentality!

Relaxing has always been something I have struggled with. Not that I am naturally anxious or stressed by any means, but typically I place my focus on all that I have going on around me and as a result I end up neglecting the moment that has been given to me to relax and not worry about what is coming next. I have lived my life in a way that has created a false expectation for myself that I always have to be the responsible one and as a result, fun becomes second option. Notice I said false expectation. Nobody ever taught me to do that, I just never allowed myself another option. Jamaica taught me something, it’s no problem!

How many times have we missed out on the moment because we cannot let go of the momentum? We are not called to live this way. As believers we are given life and given it more abundantly! That doesn’t mean more to do, it means more living! Living life with the mind of Christ that has been renewed is to live in rest! It will allow you to float in the pool for hours with your friends and laugh together instead of being worried about getting the to do list done.

The no problem, no worries way of life does not mean that we neglect our responsibilities, although that is exactly what I did on this vacation, it just means that we start learning how to be intentional about the way we live. It means that we can spend an hour in our afternoon getting our laundry done and then the next hour going out to play pickleball with our friends.

Living a life in Christ means that you embrace life to its fullest potential. It means that when you start to pick up those problems and those worries, that are wrapped in all the fear and anxiety, you give it to Him! Living with no problems means that you cast them away, and give them to Him to handle because He cares for you! Sometimes it means that we have to cast them many times a day until we make it part of our lifestyle but it’s His will for our life that our lifestyle embrace the no problems way of living!

Until next time Jamaica,

If you are interested in booking a trip to a Sandals resort, be sure to reach out to us! Sojourney Travel By Jessica would love to book it for you.