Growing up my dad loves to tell the story of how he packed me, my mom and my brothers in a minivan one hot summer in Philadelphia to hit the road somewhere down the highway. In the beginning it was all fun and games, singing and laughing….until night hit and we were still driving. Now me and my brothers were really young then and were very inquisitive. We had about a million questions for my dad like: “Daddy, where are we going?” “How long until we get there?” and the infamous question: “Are we there yet?” Each time we asked my dad these questions he’d just smile and say, “You’ll see when we get there.” Then we’d all let out these big sighs and slam our heads back on the car seats in defeat, still with no real clue of what was going on. Don’t you just HATE that answer!? Lol As a kid you’re not very patient and going into a situation where you have no details or any type of hints you get pretty frustrated and anxious about just where the heck it is you are going! Lol But, at the end of the day we trusted my dad enough to stop questioning him after awhile and just sit back and enjoy the [extremely long] ride.
It felt like we driving in the car for years, all I could see was the sky and trees (partially because I wasn’t tall enough to fully see outside of the window lol) and the many stops we were making. I just wanted to hurry up and get to wherever it was that we were going! Truthfully, it was only by the grace of God my brothers didn’t haul off and kill each other before we reached this “unknown” destination. We had all just about reached the brink of irritation and were all ready to throw each other out the window......until I peeked my little head over the car window and saw a billboard with a picture of Minnie Mouse as big as day. My eyes IMMEDIATELY widened and the thrill of excitement began to flood my entire little body as I screamed, “WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!” Suddenly the 16 hour car ride didn’t even matter, all of the fighting, all of the frustration, the HEAT didn't even seem to bother us. We had finally saw where my dad was taking us….and it was worth the long wait!
Man, how relevant is this story in comparison to our relationship with God? When we decide to let God lead our lives it’s literally handing Him the keys and hopping in the car and having Him drive you to your destination. Now when we first get started we have all this enthusiasm, all this hope. In the beginning the possibilities where we see God taking us are endless….until all we start seeing is nothing but the sky and trees. Then the exciting thrill of the unknown begins to fade away, and we now go into panic mode out of fear that our driver has lost the way. We begin to question God and say, “Daddy where are we going?” “How long until we get there?” “Are we there yet?”
If I could be totally transparent, my questions are even worse than that. I even begin to question myself on if I really even wanted to be a passenger of this Driver at all. But it’s in those times when we only see the sky and trees that God wants us to just sit back and really trust Him. He wants us to have enough faith in Him that when He says, “You’ll see when we get there” that’s all we need to know. But, at the right time, we’ll start seeing those billboards indicating that you’re on your way to Disney World….or wherever that great place is that God is taking you.
Most importantly, don’t forget to pay attention to the details along the way. You’ll need these landmarks for each road trip that God decides to take you on. Once God brings you to one destination He’s only training you to sit for longer rides. But there will be times when you’ll forget how far He’s already brought you. In those times, use those landmarks in your life to remind you that He’s still in control of your destination, He still knows the way. Driving to Disney World taught me a huge lesson about being patient in times of uncertainty and lack of direction, but if I’ve already been to Disney World….I can’t even imagine the great, exciting, new places He has in store for my life.
-Leah
For more reading on trust check out these scriptures:
Excellent job Leah!
ReplyDeleteYour messages always come on time girl...it really is crazy
ReplyDelete