What Next?
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9 (NIV).
Don’t you just love those days when there is nothing on your agenda? I certainly do! I look forward to down time when I can read a good book, write a devotion, or play a game on my cell phone. Those days are few and far between. I don’t really like chaos or rushing around but then, who does? Pat Butler Dyson (Mornings with Jesus) writes of a morning that many of us have had. But she got energized!
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Ahhhh. I sipped my coffee, reflecting on my plans for the day. I had none! I’d caught up on my work, the laundry was done, the house was clean, and there was a casserole in the fridge for dinner. The blissful uneventful day stretched ahead of me with infinite possibilities. Just then the phone rang.
“Mom,” panted my daughter Melissa, “I need to switch cars with you. I’m running late with no time to get gas. Be right there!” And just like that my day blew up. Melissa roared in the driveway, toddlers Sloane and Jameson scrambling out of their car to get into mine. I pressed the garage door opener, but the door went up halfway and stuck. Now what?
“Mom, do you have gasoline?”
The lawnmower gas! I grabbed the can and hurried to squirt it into Melissa’s tank, spilling some on my shoes in my haste. We reinstalled the kids in their car seats, just as Sloane whispered, “Potty.” I picked her up and ran inside. Sloane back in her car seat, I was making my getaway when Melissa asked to borrow my credit card. I sprinted back into the house, grabbed it, tossed it in Melissa’s window, and prayed my loved one would make it safely on time.
I smiled. My coffee was cold, and I smelled like gasoline. But I had to admit the impromptu pit stop energized me. I was eager to see what other exciting possibilities this day held.
FAITH STEP: Ask Jesus to help you embrace interruptions, be helpful, and pray for those you encounter, whether they are part of your plan or not.
Loving Lord, thank You for those quiet, down-time moments. Please help us to use them to Your glory regardless of what happens next. AMEN.