January 20, 2012
A few weeks ago, we spent a few days in Brenham visiting our old friends Norm and Sue. As some of you know, Norm has been struggling with liver failure. They've had lots of bumps and holes in their lives over the past year as Norm endured weekly treatments, and the last 18 months have been especially difficult ones for him and Sue.
Their struggle reminded me of a tough time I had a few years ago with a family member. One night, after a particularly difficult day during that painful time, I had a dream. That dream got me through that conflict and many conflicts since........and something told me this might just be what some of you needs to hear.......
My dream started with me riding in the backseat of my car with a chauffeur (it's a Jeep Wranger Rubicon, by-the-way, in Mango-Tango orange). Some friends and family members are on this ride too and none of us can actually see the face of our Driver, but he's mapped out our route and we trust Him to take us where we need to go. We start off on a nice smooth highway, cruising along at a nice pace, looking out the window at all the other cars going by and enjoying the ride. Then He turns off the busy highway onto a nice country road. We're loving the view and notice there aren't near as many cars on this road as there were on the highway. Eventually, the road gets even less traveled and the asphalt, which has now turned to dirt, is getting rougher and rougher. We start feeling the bumps and holes in the road and getting jostled around quite a bit. Some of my friends and family in my Jeep Rubicon in Mango Tango Orange start losing faith in my Driver and want out of the car. Although He tries to assure them He has a GPS and this road will get us to our destination, they insist He stop cause they can't stand the bumps any longer. So, He reluctantly pulls over and lets them out. Although I can't see His face, I can tell by his posture how hurt He is that they didn't trust Him to get them to their final destination.
As we start back up on this very bumpy road, He repeatedly assures us this is the right road; the ONLY road that will get us to our destination, and that He has driven this road many times. He proceeds to tell me that all of those cars we had seen and passed on the highway were going the wrong direction.....and that He had tried repeatedly to flag them down.....let them know the road ahead ended in death and destruction, but they weren't interested in taking the bumpy road....they wanted the smooth, uneventful, easy road....cause they knew best. As we bounce around in the backseat from all the bumps and holes, with a smile in His voice, he starts describing our amazing, incredible destination ahead.
What a great dream, huh? I think of this
every day. It reminds me that with each bump and hole in my journey, I am one mile closer to my final destination......and it reminds me to give thanks for those bumps and holes. After all, without these trials and struggles, why would we need a Driver?
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14).
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