A Walk To The Park

I have a two year old boy who absolutely loves going to the park.  This spring, our post nap routine has been to load up the stroller, grab the dog, the snack cup, the basketball and all other essential sports items and head out for a walk to the park.  The problem is, sometimes my little man knows just enough that he thinks we are not going to the park after all.  If I turn in a direction that he feels is leading us the wrong way, he will squirm and flail in protest at mom's cruel injustice.  Oh he knows the way to the park alright, and this is not it!  "Go the other way, Mommy, the park is that way!" 

One day in particular, he was none too pleased that Mom seemed to forget that the whole point of our little stroller outings was to get to the park for him to play.  He fussed as I continued to push him further from his desired destination.  I tried reasoning with him..."Buddy, Mommy is taking you to the park, we are just going to make a big loop first.  We're going to walk along the canals and then by the rainbow fountain, but don't worry, we are going to the park."  Fussing continued, now coupled with him wiggling in an attempt for him to break free from his stroller harness.  Reasoning was not working.  A two year old mind cannot always follow the logic of his thirty year old Mama (who of course is very wise and quite profound).  Then I said, "Buddy, you are just going to have to trust Mama."

Ahh, and then it clicked.  Do you ever have those moments where you hear yourself say something, and then you realize that the true lesson is for you?  That is what happened to me in that moment.  In my attempt to teach my son, the Lord taught me.

Plain and simple, the Lord showed me that I have a very simple choice in this life...am I going to choose to trust Him or not?  Trust has nothing to do with the circumstances, and it has nothing to do with understanding all of the details.  I asked my son to trust me solely on the basis of who I am.  He could not understand my reasoning, and all visual evidence to him seemed to portray that I was leading him astray.  Yet, I was asking him to choose to trust me simply because I am Mama.   

In the same way, we are asked to trust God not because we understand the path that He is leading us down or because we can see clearly how all of this is going to play out in "leading us to the park," but rather simply because He is God.  When circumstances do not go the way that you had hoped, when times of waiting seem to stretch on and on with no end in sight, when dreams are dashed to pieces and long time plans are laid waste, will you trust Him "just because He is God?"  The question in those times of disappointment is not "why?"  Often times, we want to ask God why things did not work out the way that we had asked.  But very much like me trying to explain something to my 2 year old that was beyond his comprehension, so our minds can never understand the ways of God.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."  The question we need to be asking is not why, but rather, "Is my God trustworthy?" 

Throughout the Old Testament, God continually points out His faithfulness in the past to increase the faith of His people in the future.  Over and over again, you will read of God recounting how he led His people out of Egypt and so on.  In essence He is saying, "Remember who I am.  I am God who is faithful.  I am trustworthy, so trust me."  He is immutable, His character never changes.  If He was faithful then, He will be faithful now.  In my own life the same is true.  I can look back on the past 30 years and say, "Yes Lord, You are faithful and You are trustworthy.  You have never let me down, you have never failed me.  And so I will trust you."

Just like I knew that my son wanted to go to the park, so God knows our hearts, our desires, our "intended destinations."  Will you trust Him with those?  If my son had broken free from the stroller, how successful do you think he would have been in making it there himself?  Let's just say I wouldn't wait to find out.  Likewise, I am helpless without God.  All of my attempts to control outcomes myself are futile.  So rather than complaining and whining and kicking and screaming, I will sit back and enjoy the ride.  I will rest in knowing that my trustworthy God is leading the way and "pushing my stroller," and even when the path takes an unexpected turn, I will trust that He knows the best way to get to the park after all.      



Additional Scriptures:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."  ~Proverbs 3:5-6

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." ~Psalm 23