By Debbie Christopher
Well, this one goes back to an incident that took place 22 years ago with our son. It was the summer before he entered his senior year in high school. We took a trip to northern Ohio to visit family. Along the way, I came up with the bright idea to surprise him with a special family senior trip at the end of our vacation. I did the research, and sure enough, the Cubs were playing at home the weekend we would be heading home….PERFECT! My husband and I made arrangements and shared our plans with his sister (Sharon).
As we approached the end of our week, we informed James that we would be returning home a day later than planned, as we would be going home by a different route. Sounds simple enough. But, not when there was a special young lady (now his wife) back home that he was anxious to get back to.
He wasn’t crazy about the idea at all….he verbalized his frustration several times and asked why we couldn’t just go straight home the normal route. He was not a happy camper that his plans were messed up.
If only he knew!!! If only he knew what lie ahead for him. If only he realized how special this would be for him……If only…..
Finally, one afternoon as he was acting grumpy and pouty, I said these words….”You just need to trust us and stop fretting.” However, I only got half of those words out, when I felt a ‘spiritual’ Gibbs’ head slap… a “HELLLLLOOO” from my Heavenly Father. How many times He must desire to say those exact words to us?
When we left early the next morning, he spent most of the westward trip along Interstate 80 wrapped in a blanket and not talking. But, eventually he began to see signs that indicated what big city was just ahead. He perked up and said, “Are we going through Chicago?” At that point we shared the details of going to Wrigley for a game that afternoon, eating pizza for supper, and heading home tomorrow. He was definitely in a better mood and later thanked us for such a special treat.
That’s all God wants from us. He wants us to trust that His plans are, indeed, for our good. He wants us to be thankful for working out the details for our good. Just trust Him and stop fretting!
Oh, a few weeks ago our senior grandson was getting pretty down and anxious to get home to a special young lady after an extended vacation…..Dad had a story to tell.
Let’s stop fretting and start trusting!
~Debbie