Thus started a quest that would lead through six hours of turmoil, searching, researching, prayer, frustration, and yes, I admit, a few angry remarks here and there. Our newly-purchased, used car had just been brought the 5 hours from the French Alps to our new home in southwest France. It had not moved with us because it had decided to staunchly apply the parking brake and then refused to release it.
Two. Days. Before. We. Moved.
Yesterday, thankful to have it back, we'd taken our first outing as a family in months: a day at the beach. We'd come home, lightly baked, and unloaded the car. But HOW had we unloaded? Who unlocked the house? Who brought the keys back to lock the car? Were they locked in the trunk? Had #5 decided to be "helpful" and put them in her infamous, roving, "hidey spot"?
I went through the seven stages of grieving a few times and finally arrived at the eighth: the self-induced coma. I awoke to #1 asking me if these car keys were the car keys we'd all been looking for. Those of you who know our family know that two thirds of the time, #1 is the only guy who has a clue what's going on. The other third of the time, it's the Wife. Anyway, the keys hadn't actually been anywhere all that out-of-sight. Regardless, by this time, the gas stations were closed, the store was closed, and I wasn't going to be able to drive to talk to someone in Montpellier about the Wife's stalled visa renewal. So: why, God?
I kept looking for things to work on. I was caught up on ministry stuff, we'd cleaned the whole house looking for the stupid key, we still didn't have internet. So, I played a little computer (Dragon Age: Origins, if you're curious), built some Legos with the kids (Anakin's Jedi Starfighter and Mustafar duel scene, if you must know), had coffee and conversation with the Wife, worked on an HTML class that I'm taking, and took another stab at deciphering the gigantic mystery that is Arabic.
In the process, God quietly answered my question.
The "why?" was "because."
Because God loves me, He gave me a day to relax.
Because God loves me, He taught me that it suffices to pray and trust, to not always assume that I can fix a problem.
Because God is God, storms come and in their passing bring renewal instead of destruction.
I don't know what storm you're facing today, whether it is a shower or a hurricane, but there is a reason for it, and while it's commendable to try to fight against it, it might be wiser, just once, to lay down and let it wash over you. God knows where your keys are.
I can definitely relate to days like this. It seems as if everything is in your way and it's so hard to let go of the sense that critical time (and momentum) is slipping away.
ReplyDeleteJust the last few weeks between being sick with strep throat and some automotive misfires it's been easy to see obstacles where God's instead given me an opportunity to grow a bit. Big challenge for sure. Before I called you on Saturday I was actually dealing with a similar dilemma of having ordered the wrong tires for my wife's truck and finding out I had overlooked a minor detail (16.5 inch wheels instead of 16 inch wheels), and subsequently scrambling to figure out a solution. She can't do over about 35 MPH in the truck right now because her tires are so shot so it was a big let down. But we got to spend some time together Saturday morning talking, even if only to sort out the options and laugh at each other. :P