Out of our Control
For the first time in my life I was driving a brand new car.
We had leased a minivan, cherry red, one of my favorite colors, and I was
returning from errands while my mom watched the kids for me. I waited to turn
left on a four-lane road with no left turn lane.
A minivan, driving the opposite direction crossed the line,
careening toward me. My first thought was wondering if he thought he could turn
left into the house on the right side of the street. Where did he think he was
going? Barely having time to breathe a prayer for help, I held tight to the
steering wheel, watching as the driver ploughed into the front end of my car,
crushing the front bumper and the hood. The airbag inflated, then popped,
skinning my arm. Other than that minor injury and the stress being hit head on
caused, I walked away unscathed. God had protected me during an accident I
hadn’t caused and couldn’t prevent.
I’m sharing this story, because so many God fearing parents
today, myself included, have been watching some of their children take a path
away from God. Some of these young people are making choices, which may cause
irrevocable damage to their lives, others will live through the consequences
that could have been avoided, but still be hurt by them. For many of us, it’s
like watching a car wreck waiting to happen. We can do nothing in our own power
to change it. We can cling to the Lord and pray, we can encourage each other
with His word and wait on Him, while finding what we can be thankful for.
That day long ago, when I walked away from that demolished
car, God woke me up to how fragile my life was. Yet he protected me through it
and my children had been safe at home. The car had been stationary, so there
was probably less damage due to a lesser impact than if I'd been moving.
Though we can’t always see it, the Lord is working and He is
waiting, with even a deeper love for our children, for them to come back. He is
with you as you wait on the road with the ring and the robe and the hug, for
your prodigal to return.
In the same way, there
is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told
them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his
father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father
agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
“A few days later this
younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he
wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran
out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a
local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the
pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was
feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said
to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food
“So he returned home
to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and
kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and
you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants,
‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for
his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening.
We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now
returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ (Luke 15:10-24, NLT)
No comments:
Post a Comment