It wasn’t how I wanted to spend my day. You’ve been there. The inopportune hours we spend at the auto repair shop.
There were three recalls on my car. After making a few attempts over a year’s time to have them repaired, the parts were finally in, and the repairs could happen in two hours.
She walked in about ten minutes late so concerned about her tardiness. “I don’t even think I can tell you what happened to me.” She began trying to tell me why she was late before I could say anything. “I really think I am just getting dumb,” and she went on “I can’t remember anything anymore.”
I was certain it had to do with her being inundated with information. I knew she was going through a difficult time. “I’m late. I walked in early and looked down at my feet, and I was barefoot.” Smiling and almost laughing as I envisioned the scene, I explained, “It really isn’t that unusual. I’ve worn two different colored shoes to the office before. I’ve known many other women who have done the same thing.”
Me sharing my personal experience seemed to put her at ease a little and when I looked down at her feet that were turning blue, I had to ask, “Where did you get shoes, you said you are barefoot?” “Oh, Allison, I ran to the consignment store and then to my daughter’s favorite boutique across the parking lot.” I kept smiling thinking how resourceful she was to go to a store instead of driving all the way home. She kept talking, “The consignment store had nothing my size and the boutique didn’t either.” I was a little confused. After all, she did have shoes on. “Where did you get your shoes?” She looked at me like a cat with a mouse in its mouth, “I got a size too small at the boutique, my feet are squished into them.”
Isn’t this just the way we do things sometimes in our lives? We rush around in a panic looking to find something that will fit and when we don’t find it, we settle by forcing it.
When is the last time you forced something and not let it take its natural course? Did it hurt you or anyone else?
I sit and ponder what it is that keeps me from moving forward. Is it fear? I am uncertain. I have a sense of knowing there is something that does not seem quite right. Is it the desire of my heart? Is it really the direction I am supposed to take? I know that my direction will determine my destination. So, is this it? I am not certain.
Last year, I had what I perceived to be an opportunity for a business partnership with someone I respect and love. As I stilled myself and processed what was being proposed, I believed it may be a good plan. Believing with confidence that a door was about to be opened, I sought wise counsel. I had worked diligently, sowing and allowing God to prune and nurture my soul for the past few years. I was thinking that this was it, this was the fruit from all the sowing; it was here, and I was so thankful. I worked an entire day and night, making sure that every thing was in order, and that all the I’s were dotted and all the T’s were crossed. I left no stone unturned. I had prepared well, and I was grateful for what had been put together. As I gathered all the papers, I said one last prayer and jumped into the car to head out for my meeting.
The food was and company was great. We sat by the window, in the tiny little restaurant that permeated a sense of grace and due to a lot of background noise, I found I was having difficulty hearing the words being spoken to me. As I continued to listen intently, and focus on the ideas and strategies being presented, I began to get a sick feeling in my stomach. What I had heard prior to that day, was not what I was hearing today. I sat in dismay, re-thinking every thing while we were talking and trying to listen, without my “feelings” of disappointment being worn on my sleeve. I prayed in my heart that in that very moment, God would lead me out of any direction He did not want me to step. I prayed too, that He would protect each of us from anything that was not from Him.
When we left the restaurant, I got into my car and sat there thanking God for the wonderful friend He had brought into my life. I thanked Him for what seemed to be a gift at first, and now seemed as if it was all a joke. Though I did not understand why it was beginning to feel like the wrong way to go, I set my eyes and heart back onto Jesus and His love for me, and reconciled that He knew best. I knew from past experience, I did not always know what was best.
Sometimes, we don’t understand why things do no not go the way we think they should. When we allow God to be in control of our decisions, He will make our path known. Our part is to believe Him and listen to His direction. The peace we receive from Him, offers more than a peaceful life. It offers us an insight to sense when we are not moving in the right direction and when we are. It’s a prompting from the Holy Spirit. In time, through the process of learning more about God, through His Word, we can begin to actively experience this in our personal lives.
The above situation was one between a dearly loved friend of mine and me. We had shared ideas and plans and thought we might be headed into business together. We each sensed the need to wait, and pray over our decision before we finalized any thing. We knew we were connected by God, but we also knew that it was important to pray about every thing first. We wanted to be sure that this was the direction God wanted us to take. We knew it may fail, if it was not. By committing our plans to God through prayer, we chose not to move forward in our plans. Because we think we know what is best, it is not always easy to accept no for an answer. Sometimes, though it may look like a “no,” it could be that little bit of extra encouragement we need to spur us on to the next step in our journey!
I have learned that when we are not certain, and if there is any doubt, do not move forward. We never fully know the plans of the Lord. We do know He uses other people to help us grow and sometimes, He sends us on our way to grow more, and then He brings us back together at a later time. My experience has been that when I take my plans before God and commit them to Him, He will show the way! By committing our plans to the Lord, we can be certain they will succeed and in His perfect timing!
What about you? How do you remain confident you are on the right path?
Suggested Reading: Proverbs 16:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:2-3; Psalm 46:10; Psalm 139:15-18
I remember the conversation well. It was early in the morning before school started and I was talking with my six-year old grandson. I was teaching him about being a good listener and paying attention. He was headed out for the first day of school in the first grade. Because of his uncertainty of what to expect, he was excited and a bit timid at the same time. He’d been to kindergarten last year, but this was different, it was big school, it was first grade after all!
I sat with him and shared words and hugs to console him and instill in him courage for the day. I talked to him about listening and paying attention, and if he did, how he might learn something. I talked about not talking when someone else was talking, how rude and disrespectful it is to interrupt and how important it is to always look in the eyes of the person who is talking to you, giving them your undivided attention. This shows people you are listening, you respect them and that you are paying attention. Seeming to understand what I said, and with me sensing he was feeling much more confident about the day ahead of him, we hugged and kissed one another goodbye.
Later that morning, I was in my car, leaving an appointment and listening to messages on my mobile phone. I checked both ways before pulling out to turn left and maneuvered my way quite well across the four lanes of traffic. After looking back over my right shoulder, before moving over one last lane, I heard someone blowing the horn incessantly. Looking up I saw a woman screaming, while pointing her finger at me, through the glass window! I laughed to myself thinking she was having a really bad morning and I showed a gesture of apology, while underneath I was confident she was the one in the wrong!
She went on her way and turned right onto the same street I too would momentarily turn. After completing my call and turning right, I approached the next intersection preparing to stop where the light had turned red. Surprisingly, this woman was right beside me! Looking over toward her, I lowered my driver’s side window and she lowered her passenger side. I expressed to her my apology for almost hitting her, even though I really did not think it was my fault. She started screaming at me, telling me I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, what I was doing and that I was too busy talking on the phone. I was taken aback by her attitude, but nonetheless, I apologized again, stating to her how thankful I was to God that we had not collided and what a blessing it had been for us both. The light turned green and without acknowledging my words, she sped away.
As I drove from there, I started thinking about what she said. I had a revelation, she was right; I was not paying attention! I was on the phone, too engrossed in listening to my messages to realize that because of the pain it caused, I couldn’t turn around far enough to see her coming in the lane next to me. I did almost run over her! It was a blessing that we did not have impact, and she was justified in her anger toward me for almost causing a major interruption in her day!
My mind then carried me back to the conversation I had earlier that morning with my grandson and how I had shared with him that by listening and paying attention, we might learn something. I learned something big about myself; a bit of arrogance was still hiding deep inside, and though I thought I was innocent, I was not! The hornet was at work!
I am thankful God has taught me and reminds me daily to listen to Him. When I don’t pay attention and listen, I become a hazard to others and myself. The reason He asks us to, “Be still and know that I am God . . . ” (Psalm 46:10, NIV), is because he desires for us to listen to Him so He can direct our ways.
Whew! Even though I wasn’t listening or paying attention to begin with, He still showed up and freed me from a possible injury to someone, a huge delay in my day, and the possibility of increasing my insurance costs! He taught me a HUGE lesson in listening and paying attention to the small stuff through the very words I had used with my grandson earlier that morning!