April 21, 2020
The van was packed full of lawn chairs, picnic food in bags and coolers, 3 kids, (the older ones were off on their own adventures), 2 grandparents, my husband and me. It was Spring Break and we were headed to the San Jacinto monument. It’s not a grand destination, not even particularly beautiful, but these were the kind of quick, one day trips my kids looked forward to for weeks. An adventure with Granny (her purse full of candy and her youthful spirit leading us in singing “Down in the Valley” every time we went over a dip in the road) and Grandpa (with his funny made up songs and silly sayings) was a precious memory in the making. Spirits and anticipation were high as we packed and piled into the van. “Everyone in? Seatbelts buckled? Ok, shut that door and let’s go!” But the door would not slide shut. It was an automatic door, operated by pushing a button. So I pushed the button again. The door would not move. “Hold on, I’ll get out and close it!” The door would not budge. A hush fell over the crowd... My husband tried, Grandpa tried, I’m pretty sure even Granny tried. But the door would not move. The bubble of anticipation and excitement burst in an instant, to be replaced by whining, crying and shouts of “WHYYYYYY?” And that was just me. The kids were even more upset. This had never happened before. Why now? We surely can’t drive down I-45 with the side door open. (Or any other road for that matter) A kid could fall out! Granny could fall out! Should we unpack and take two cars? How long until the ice melts and the sandwiches go bad? How much is this gonna cost? Desperation was clouding my thoughts. I was panicking. I was mad. Why does this kind of thing always happen to me? To us? Luckily, we knew a guy. My (now) son-in-law, Jeff, can figure out anything and thankfully that day was no exception. I’m not sure where he was or what he was doing but he dropped everything to help us. Even though we left much later than planned, the rest of the day was perfect. Life’s like that sometimes. We have big plans. Everything is going along fine when suddenly... something unexpected happens. Something unforeseen rocks our world. A “door of opportunity” won’t open or something we took for granted is taken away (a door is closed). It is only human to be caught off guard, to wonder why. Who knows what tragedy we may have avoided that day by that broken door delay? Maybe the adventure was more fun or more appreciated because we almost didn’t get to go. Only God knows those answers. Only God knows what the real plan is for our day, our week, our life. That day’s problem had a quick fix. Other situations last longer. Some are here to stay. Many times I’ve been blessed to be able to look back at a difficult time in my life and say “Oh, I see why that had to happen.” But there are many more that I still cannot understand. In every trial I know that God holds the future and there is nothing that can happen unless it’s part of His plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” And in Psalm 37:5:”Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” Commit AND trust! Smile and be joyful!
The van was packed full of lawn chairs, picnic food in bags and coolers, 3 kids, (the older ones were off on their own adventures), 2 grandparents, my husband and me. It was Spring Break and we were headed to the San Jacinto monument. It’s not a grand destination, not even particularly beautiful, but these were the kind of quick, one day trips my kids looked forward to for weeks. An adventure with Granny (her purse full of candy and her youthful spirit leading us in singing “Down in the Valley” every time we went over a dip in the road) and Grandpa (with his funny made up songs and silly sayings) was a precious memory in the making. Spirits and anticipation were high as we packed and piled into the van. “Everyone in? Seatbelts buckled? Ok, shut that door and let’s go!” But the door would not slide shut. It was an automatic door, operated by pushing a button. So I pushed the button again. The door would not move. “Hold on, I’ll get out and close it!” The door would not budge. A hush fell over the crowd... My husband tried, Grandpa tried, I’m pretty sure even Granny tried. But the door would not move. The bubble of anticipation and excitement burst in an instant, to be replaced by whining, crying and shouts of “WHYYYYYY?” And that was just me. The kids were even more upset. This had never happened before. Why now? We surely can’t drive down I-45 with the side door open. (Or any other road for that matter) A kid could fall out! Granny could fall out! Should we unpack and take two cars? How long until the ice melts and the sandwiches go bad? How much is this gonna cost? Desperation was clouding my thoughts. I was panicking. I was mad. Why does this kind of thing always happen to me? To us? Luckily, we knew a guy. My (now) son-in-law, Jeff, can figure out anything and thankfully that day was no exception. I’m not sure where he was or what he was doing but he dropped everything to help us. Even though we left much later than planned, the rest of the day was perfect. Life’s like that sometimes. We have big plans. Everything is going along fine when suddenly... something unexpected happens. Something unforeseen rocks our world. A “door of opportunity” won’t open or something we took for granted is taken away (a door is closed). It is only human to be caught off guard, to wonder why. Who knows what tragedy we may have avoided that day by that broken door delay? Maybe the adventure was more fun or more appreciated because we almost didn’t get to go. Only God knows those answers. Only God knows what the real plan is for our day, our week, our life. That day’s problem had a quick fix. Other situations last longer. Some are here to stay. Many times I’ve been blessed to be able to look back at a difficult time in my life and say “Oh, I see why that had to happen.” But there are many more that I still cannot understand. In every trial I know that God holds the future and there is nothing that can happen unless it’s part of His plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” And in Psalm 37:5:”Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” Commit AND trust! Smile and be joyful!
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