My prayer is for my children and grandchildren to have as blessed a life in their tomorrows as I have had in all my yesteryears. This is my constant intercession to God. I confidently know God hears my pleas, desires the same for my family and, come tomorrow, will deliver blessings like unto my yesterdays. I do, however, get caught up in one pitfall. Yesterday and tomorrow are not the stumbling block. Today is.
This hit home with me three days ago, on my first walk post hurricane Nicole. Reality was I found myself wading through the aftermath muck and mire of a fierce storm, lamenting the lost beauty of yesterday and hoping tomorrow would be restored to the blessing of past harmony and glorious surroundings. Now, doesn’t that parallel my prayer for my family?
Next thing I knew, I was in conversation with God explaining this was exactly what I meant in my prayer for my loved ones. It was a great simile for Him to understand what I was trying to express. Good grief, what was I thinking? I mean as if God needs anything drawn out so He can see the picture!!!
God always lets my stupidity become a teaching moment — obviously, for me not Him. My physical path, literally strewn with debris, made this a straightforward lesson. Easily and effectively, God maneuvered me through my bleak trek into understanding.
My first lesson was the “light bulb going on” moment of acceptance that much bigger, stronger hands than mine were needed today to rid the wreckage separating yesterday’s clear path from tomorrow’s prayed for restoration. My fingers could grip the rubble as hard as my human strength could muster, but nothing was I capable of lifting and clearing away.
Next, came my “I got it, Lord” proclamation. God’s hands, not mine, must be entrusted with the work needed to be done today. To restore the future how God’s past creation had designed it to be, God, and HE ALONE must AT HIS PACE engineer the transformation. At best, and only if He calls me to it, can I, in minuscule ways, help serve God’s plan. Take note; I said serve, not orchestrate nor execute.
So, why is my tendency to look at today and think mine is the power to control and change anything? Time and again, what part of “Let go and let God” do I overlook or, worse yet, ignore? Easily, I credit God with the past and assign the future to Him. However, I, wrongly, think I can influence, alter or, even, re-create today. What’s more, I want the end result of God’s blessed tomorrow to reign in today’s unblessed mess.
Of course, there’s also timing to discuss — mine versus God’s. Present day reality finds so much of life in total disarray. Solely wanting our world and its people immediately cured, I’m after stopwatch, split-second speed to the rescue. None the less, God discerns saving souls is slowly achieved through His loving watch, not the minutes on a clock. In honesty, I need to stop trying to move the finish line to the starting point. Better yet, I need to take my mitts off of God’s steering wheel.
Toward the end of my post hurricane jaunt, my shoes were soaked and filthy, but my footing was dried, cured and where God needed it to be. As a chuckle filled my voice, I looked skyward, where both the sun and SON were breaking through, and professed my newly garnered insight — God will take care of tomorrow, if I let Him handle today.
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 