"God has plans" |
Minivan moments…
I have had several in my life.
Here are just a few:
I remember…
-getting a speeding ticket for going 90 mph in our red mini van…yep, it is possible
-learning that if you leave the van’s sliding door open overnight (accidentally) AND there just happens to be some scattered french fries, string cheese, and possibly Fruit by the Foot on the floor of the van, that mice will try to make their home there
-sitting in traffic listening to Jungle Jam, Veggie Tales, and Adventures in Odyssey with the kids makes going 5 mph for 10 miles bearable
-playing the “door game” until the door flew off and we had to drive to the auto body shop with the sliding door inside the van and explain that we were playing a game
-sleeping in the back of the van when the rain soaked our tent while camping
-learning a lot about my kids’s friendships by listening to the carpool chatter.
-forgetting to do a head count before strapping the kids into their car seats and consequently leaving one in the parking lot in his infant carrier (sorry Brian)
But the story that I remember most happened in the midst of an utterly ugly attitude day.
At the time I was a young mom with 4 kids…ages 5 and under….yep it was an intense time in life!
On this particular day, I was frazzled, impatient and grouchy. My oldest, Emily missed the bus to kindergarten which meant I had to scramble to get the other kids dressed, and in their car seats in order to drive Emily to school.
It was one of those mornings when apple juice spilled, Brian needed his bottle, Sarah didn’t want to get dressed, and Jeff was in the middle of a building project with his Duplo blocks.
I was feeling aggravated and completely unaware of God’s presence in the moment. On the short one mile drive to school I complained rather loudly to the kids about everything that had gone wrong that morning. As my tirade was winding down and we were pulling into the school parking lot…I heard Emily say, “Ya know mom…the bible says God has a plan for everyone’s life…this must be his plan for you!”
Humbled…check
Convicted…check
Blessed….double check
I will never forget that mini-van moment and I can still hear Emily’s sweet voice like it was yesterday. She didn’t say the words as criticism, or cynically, or even as some sort of “pat answer” solution to my woes. She said it in her “supposing” voice as if she has been mulling it over and applied what she knew about God’s word to the situation.
Since then I have replayed that little exchange hundreds of times in my mind. Sometimes during really rough times, when nothing seems to make sense…I still apply it. Not in a simplistic way, but in a way, by God’s grace, that allows me to be at peace when I can’t fill in all the blanks…when I can layer the unanswered questions with the truth I know about God and his character and his love for me.
As the youth pastor at our church, Phil EuBank says, “If you have a pulse, God has a plan!”
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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
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