Oh, the wonderful dream of driving cross country with my children. The wonderful homeschooling opportunities would abound. Historical landmarks, singing educational songs, listening to audio books for further enrichment...right:) How about the counting opportunities for the little ones "how many times has Junior said are we there yet?" Or word problems for the older ones "if passenger A drinks a 16 ounce soda in Utah how many times will we need to stop to use the bathroom by the time we cross the Nevada state line?" It could be discouraging when you realize your youngest didn't bring shoes or your 12 year old, who should know better by now, only brought two pairs of underwear for a two week journey. This wasn't what we had planned. This wasn't the picture perfect life sharing experience I'd imagined.
Our Christian walk is much the same. We make plans and have the greatest ideas. We can picture in our minds eye what our perfect family should look like and are often disappointed at the lack of progression we see in our children, our husbands, ourselves. We've read all the parenting books, started all the new miracle chore programs and poured through all the home school catalogs. 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." We often forget that the plans we should have are His plans. We will always fall short if we are expecting Him to sign off on our agenda. Let me tell you, it's terrifying to truly trust in the Lord for your family and the direction He has for it. Some things may not seem to make sense or perhaps they won't fit at all within the planning parameters you've designed so carefully for your home and family.
It reminds me of the ropes course I did as a teenager. At the end of the course was a ledge high up in a tree. The rope I was attached to seemed much too thin and the harness seemed much too flimsy. Then I looked down and the ground seemed much further away and much harder than I remembered it being earlier in the course. As I looked up, suspended in mid air was a bar that I was told I was supposed jump to from the little ledge. A weakling of a boy was standing on the ground with his floss sized rope telling me to jump, he'll lower me down easy. At that moment I had two thoughts "There's no other way down from here" and "I didn't think I'd die this way". But after a few minutes I finally realized my only option was to jump. I had to trust my life to the one holding the rope. So I jumped with arms outstretched and, to my amazement, clasped the bar in front of me! God wants us to jump. He is not only the one belaying, He made the rope and the tree and the ledge. He knows exactly how far the bar needs to be for us to be able to grab it. His plan truly is for our good and not our harm.
So our van trip was not super educational. So what if at times I wished the van came with a sound proof window feature like they have in limousines. So what if I wondered if there were any monasteries along the way that would take children 5-15. I had the wonderful, and at times sobering, opportunity to have a glimpse into the hearts of my children. I was given a little peek into their strengths and weaknesses, their dreams and fears. I gained insight from wonderful friends and looked a little further into my heart...my strengths and weaknesses; my dreams and fears. We may not know or understand the ways of the Lord, but they are good. His is a Great Adventure!
Our Christian walk is much the same. We make plans and have the greatest ideas. We can picture in our minds eye what our perfect family should look like and are often disappointed at the lack of progression we see in our children, our husbands, ourselves. We've read all the parenting books, started all the new miracle chore programs and poured through all the home school catalogs. 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." We often forget that the plans we should have are His plans. We will always fall short if we are expecting Him to sign off on our agenda. Let me tell you, it's terrifying to truly trust in the Lord for your family and the direction He has for it. Some things may not seem to make sense or perhaps they won't fit at all within the planning parameters you've designed so carefully for your home and family.
It reminds me of the ropes course I did as a teenager. At the end of the course was a ledge high up in a tree. The rope I was attached to seemed much too thin and the harness seemed much too flimsy. Then I looked down and the ground seemed much further away and much harder than I remembered it being earlier in the course. As I looked up, suspended in mid air was a bar that I was told I was supposed jump to from the little ledge. A weakling of a boy was standing on the ground with his floss sized rope telling me to jump, he'll lower me down easy. At that moment I had two thoughts "There's no other way down from here" and "I didn't think I'd die this way". But after a few minutes I finally realized my only option was to jump. I had to trust my life to the one holding the rope. So I jumped with arms outstretched and, to my amazement, clasped the bar in front of me! God wants us to jump. He is not only the one belaying, He made the rope and the tree and the ledge. He knows exactly how far the bar needs to be for us to be able to grab it. His plan truly is for our good and not our harm.
So our van trip was not super educational. So what if at times I wished the van came with a sound proof window feature like they have in limousines. So what if I wondered if there were any monasteries along the way that would take children 5-15. I had the wonderful, and at times sobering, opportunity to have a glimpse into the hearts of my children. I was given a little peek into their strengths and weaknesses, their dreams and fears. I gained insight from wonderful friends and looked a little further into my heart...my strengths and weaknesses; my dreams and fears. We may not know or understand the ways of the Lord, but they are good. His is a Great Adventure!
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