Long Roads

Have you ever gone on a trip to a new destination and you were nervous about the journey but excited about the destination? When I met my best friend, we decided to take a road trip to Chicago with my cousin and his friend. We were excited to see Chicago and to visit Six Flags but, it was our first long trip without older adults. I remember being so excited about the destinations but, I must admit I was nervous about the journey. This was before Google Maps so we had to rely on the old Randy McNally map. I plotted out our route, we loaded up the van and we set off to a memorable trip. We had some exciting moments. I remember that I didn't do a very good job of calculating our fuel and I had to get off of an exit to find a gas station in Chicago. That was challenging and a little scary. We were in a not so good section of the city. I remember the street we were driving on had people that were just walking in the middle of the street and they didn't seem to mind that there were vehicles driving on that street. When we pulled up to the gas station, the windows had bars. I sent my best friend inside while I pumped gas. When he returned, I told him that it wasn't too bad. He said, "you didn't go inside!" I asked him what happened and he was telling me that there were bars and a window at the counter where he paid for the gas. Neither of us had ever experienced a set up like that. After we filled up, we all jumped back in the van to go to our hotel. We had many new and interesting experiences. We got to do a lot of "firsts" that week and we will always remember that trip. First time on a subway, first time using public transportation, first time using a train to commute between cities, first time getting stuck in gridlocked traffic and being yelled at by a cab driver, first time getting lost. I know that neither one of us would ever trade those experiences.

That trip was a good time. It seemed like it took us forever to get there. We had so much anticipation and we were excited when we finally made it there. But sometimes we are faced with an unplanned destination. I have been on trips where I had to take a detour due to a road closure, construction, or an accident. Nowadays, we just wait for Waze or Google Maps to reroute us and we trust those apps enough to get us to our final destination. But what do you do when life detours you? Where do you turn when it is uncertain? You can choose to try to take care of it yourself. Can you imagine just driving around randomly in your car hoping to make it to your destination with no app, no map, not even a compass? I know this sounds absurd but, when life changes course we often do this and try to take care of it ourselves. When I was told that my immune system was malfunctioning (they call it MS), that was definitely a bit of a detour. I could of easily just took my doctors' advice and moved forward with my life and just hoped for the best but, I wanted more than that and I knew that God wanted more than that for my life. I know this because I have a real relationship with Him. I ask Him for help, I open His Word, and I waited for his directions. Matthew 7:7 reminds us "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." When you seek Him, He will give you direction and a peace so you know that You can trust the directions that you are given. The path may not be the shortest or easiest, but God will always bring you through. Our apps are like that sometimes. It will reroute us around the bad, the path may be a little longer but you will not be stuck in the road mess. I am still on the journey and waiting to see the end result of God's plan with my malfunctioning body. It has been a long road but, through prayer and His Word I am starting to see answers and I can trust His plan. I look forward to this body being healed soon. There are unknowns in this life but we can trust His plan for our lives.

This reminds me of another prayer request that I have for my Roof Top Prayer Warriors. I want to you meet Grant!

This little guy had a heart defect before he even arrived but, with God's provision and lots of prayer and direction, he came into this world knowing that he would need surgery 3-5 days after he was born. His second surgery was around 4 months old and his third surgery will be at 3 years of age. It has been a bit of a bumpy road but, we keep on praying for this little guy and taking him to feet of Jesus for healing. Yesterday he had lots of smiles and had a Valentine's Day message to share. I have known his Mom since she was a student at Piner Elementary and this family has amazed me how they move forward day by day trusting that God gives them clear direction on their next steps with their baby boy. Grant, we will certainly BEE your Valentine and we will continue to pray for healing. Thank you, Grant, for showing us that no matter what obstacle we face, no matter the "unknowns" we can keep moving forward with Jesus!

Have a good week my friends and keep praying for the Impossible in 2020 because nothing is impossible for our God.