Spring, Texas

Life is pretty calm at the moment. I just sat down to knock out my column for the week and I am all alone. All alone, except for the two dogs I just moved in so my cats could eat on the back porch in peace and my bag full of Beaver Nuggets. If I do not get up and go hide the Beaver Nuggets from myself, it is going to be bad! Yesterday I had the privilege of spending the day with my oldest daughter. I was her taxi driver, water girl, and personal photographer at a softball camp down in Spring. We usually go north for everything, so the trip south was an adventure. We were on the road by 7:00 A.M. I was happy with my coffee. She was happy with her favorite blanket and her seat leaned back sleeping. I prayed all the way down there for her and many others I know and love. I prayed for myself too because last week was tough. I enjoyed the silence in the car and had mentally cleared out some junk, including bitterness the Lord had convicted me of. We sailed smoothly until we were a few exits away from FM 2920. Traffic came to a standstill. There was construction ahead and only one lane was open. We had an hour to spare, but being the aggressive and impatient driver that I am, I jumped off the highway and headed west. I assumed that in just a few minutes I could cut over and head south to Spring Cypress Road. I am including the specific street names because If you are a Houstonian, you are laughing already because you know that in Spring, Texas, there is no way to go WEST to go SOUTH and then WEST again. It is the craziest thing I have ever seen. No matter how hard I tried to find a side street, my GPS took me back to I-45 South. I did not give up though. I took the feeder and decided to go one exit back north and try again. It still did not work because we ran into dead end after dead end. After twenty five minutes of trying it my own way in unfamiliar territory, in totally disgust with my own navigating skills, I got back on I-45 South! We eased on down the highway. Only by the grace of God and skillful maneuvering behind the wheel did we make it on time. I must had sounded like a stuck, scratched record because I told Banner over and over that I had learned my lesson. If I did not know where I was going, I would stay on the highway! I vowed to not waste 30 minutes on Plan B because even if Plan A is slow, it is a sure plan! Likewise, there will be things in life that will take longer than we want and we will get stuck, but looking for a way out is not always the best plan. Sometimes the Lord wants us to go THROUGH the battle. He will not always provide us with a way out or a way around it because going THROUGH the hard times will give us faith. Do not even get me started too on how much time we waste when we try to go our own way. It just does not work! It is also foolish to think that you will never have trouble or get stuck! John 16:33 sums it up. Jesus says “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” We will never go through trouble alone if we know Jesus, and His plan is always better than mine!