A Bump in the Road

I’ve learned a great deal from my husband, even if it took a couple of tries to make our marriage stick. Not my original plan, I can tell you that! But by the grace of God alone, here we are. In some ways, we’ve sort of melded together, as couples do, finishing each other’s sentences. I can predict his reaction to any given situation with bullseye accuracy and his memories have become mine, after hearing his childhood stories many, many, many times.

Ricky grew up in a charming lakeside town, in northern Ontario. Instead of a stony dirt driveway, he enjoyed the luxury of a real paved sidewalk right out front. Jealous.

Just down the street, an enormous Maple overlooked the neighbourhood, providing much-needed shade and a spectacle of fall colors. But the tree also brought with it quite a disturbance. Eventually, the roots worked their way up beneath the sidewalk, causing the cement to buckle. The resulting uneven path was a dangerous obstacle and an eyesore for anyone, like me, whose brain adores straight lines and smooth paths.

I imagine the disappointment of the city workers who laid that cement. After leveling the ground, spreading gravel, building forms, and carefully adjusting the slope, they stood back admiring their handiwork. Perhaps they imagined the bustle of ladies, purses in hand, hurrying their way to the bank, clusters of Levi-clad teenagers sauntering along, or starry-eyed couples strolling in the moonlight down their carefully leveled walkway. And yet the mighty maple had another plan.

For three-year-old Ricky, this uneven bulge in the path was pure glory! Day after day the little tyke would mount his squeaky red tricycle. With reckless abandon he pedaled his little heart out, the wind in his hair, hitting that crack at full speed and losing touch with the ground for a split second. Sweet air!

Oh, the pure delight that filled this young boy’s heart, all because of a bump in the road.   

Listen, sister isn’t that life? We have expectations; we have built the thing, planned, leveled, and looked forward to smooth sailing. And then life happens. Things change, and up springs a bump in the road. Our vision for the future is shattered. Our plan is skewed, our expectations crushed.

My friend, I’m reminded that you and I are not the master builder. God has the best plan and He is well aware of the road ahead. Often, I long to take a look at those blueprints, to learn the next step, take a sneak peek around the corner. But would I really want that? Girlfriend, if I had seen the road ahead, if somehow, I was granted a forward glance a few years ago, I would have been scared skinny! And yet He has faithfully brought me through every trial, through family strife, sickness, and mourning, and given me abundant peace and the closest walk with Him.

We can be sure that God promises to never leave our side. I picture him standing on the rear deck of the tricycle, wind in our hair, egging us on to pedal harder, pedal faster, and reveling in the chest piercing thrill of ultimate joy as we hit that sweet air!

Proverbs 19:21 NIV Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.