Has God ever stumped you with His sense of humor? God repeatedly shows me that I am not in charge, and that His plans are better than my plans. I shared recently about my 16 year old son's knee injury that has prevented him from playing soccer his senior year in high school. This has been heartbreaking for Gabe, as he was highly recruited after because of his soccer skills....until the injury. The past year, Gabe has been trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life now that his dreams of playing soccer at a military school have been dashed.
As his Mom, I just want to fix things. I've been angry with God, as I've shared in previous posts. I try to steer Gabe into various diversions so that he will concentrate less on his previous passion. Last week, God provided a great diversion for Gabe without my help! My son was driving to his first day of school for his senior year. I was happily jogging and basking in the quiet I would be able to return to at home...until...my cell phone rang. "Mom, I have a slight problem. I was stuck waiting for a train and worried about getting late to school. So, I turned the car around so that I could get to school on the highway. But - the shoulder gave way under my tires, and I'm stuck in a ditch. It's no big deal!"
No big deal was indeed a big deal. Gabe got out of the ditch, but the front car bumper had peeled off entirely leaving a car that looked as if it had been in a train wreck. One side section of the car was badly dented, and the front of the car was missing it's clothes. When we took the car to the auto body shop, we discovered that the minimum cost to repair it would run $4000. I called the car insurance company only to find out that I had recently removed collision coverage from the car in an effort to save money. In other words - we had to either pay this large fee, or I could possibly buy Gabe antlers to place where the bumper had previously resided; perhaps this would lend the car a macho effect!
I fussed and fumed about the car for a few days. Since it still functioned, I let Gabe drive it to school but felt a slight sense of embarrassment that the neighbors would see my son driving such a wreck. I thought, however, "Gabe got himself into this mess. He'll have to get himself out of it!"
One day last weekend, I drove home to find Gabe and his Dad working on the car in the garage. They had refitted the marred bumper, somehow pounded out some of the dents in the side panel and purchased white car paint to fix up the exterior of the car. Both my husband and Gabe were so excited about this project and their ability to figure out the details. God had provided a diversion for Gabe through what I had thought was a terrible situation. He had turned a mess into something good. How was that possible? I am thankful for God's sense of humor and His direction!
Dear Lord: I thank you for Your sense of humor. Thank you that Your ways are higher than my ways and Your thoughts higher than my thoughts. Help me to trust in Your ways.
In Christ's Name. Amen.
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