Ever look at a vapor trail in the sky? Those white, puffy, cloud-like formations
left behind by some sort of aircraft…which craft, how big, and who (or what) it
was carrying is anyone’s guess.
I like to observe them.
Sometimes they dot or dash, even intersecting with others, and sometimes
they are just little spurts that seem to disappear midway. Sometimes they travel in a clear, horizontal
direction and sometimes they look like they go straight upward or (gasp!)
downward. At times they stretch far off
into a horizon that I cannot clearly make out…but they are always going, I
suppose…going somewhere.
While I like to daydream about who or what carved that cloud
path, I cannot with any certainty know. Even at 20/20 vision seeing something from
my vantage point, I recognize that it would look completely different from
someone else standing neighborhoods or cities away. My failing eyes, my location, my judgements,
my preconceived notions (and my trying to reason why it’s there in the first
place) will cause me to see falsely. My
perceptions may not indeed be truth.
But then I stop and think.
While I cannot see where vapor trails go, there is One who can. While I do not know who or what was onboard,
there is One who does. While my vision
is so limited to my pinpoint location, there is One who extends beyond all
space.
And He is real and He is everywhere and He is all-knowing.
I often feel like my own paths in life take left turns or
right turns or U-turns. Sometimes there
are clear visions of where I am headed.
Sometimes my short paths just seem to disappear. Sometimes I stretch far off toward a horizon
I can’t clearly make out and sometimes it feels like I am going straight upward
or (gasp!) downward. But I am always going,
I suppose…going somewhere.
There are days that I struggle to see past my own
circumstances, past my own little existence, but I can choose to surrender to
my Father in Heaven. There are days when
I’m tempted say, “Why me?” or “Why us?” or “Not Again!”, but I can choose to
fall to my knees in prayer instead of hanging my head in defeat. I can choose to throw my arms in the air in
Praise instead of throwing them up in defeat.
And I can find strength in those moments. Not of my own, but of one FAR mightier.
I can know that God’s viewpoint is not skewed and He is not
limited in His understanding. While any
single day that I exist is smaller than even the minutest of scratches on the
surface of all of history, God was both at the beginning of time and will
remain until the end. While my view is
blocked by all sorts of hindrances, God not only sees clearly but sees with a
greater purpose than I’ll ever know.
Trusting is hard.
Yes! Surrendering is hard. Yes!
It is a daily battle of the flesh, mind, and heart. But, oh, what joy can come when we recognize
that we aren’t in control…and that (surprise!) that is actually a good
thing. I don’t own one of those “Life is
Good” shirts (or bumper stickers or hats or spare tire covers…) but I’ve thought
about coining ones that say “Life is Hard.”
Maybe better stated, “Life is Hard…but Living is worth it.”
Who are you living for?
Or rather, whose agenda are you living for?
God is bigger. His
ways are higher. He not only clearly sees
the entirety of everything, but masterfully has a hand in it. While I can’t know the why of everything
happening, I do believe that He can redeem it.
All of it. I do believe that nothing can stop His
ultimate plan.
And though I’ll likely continue to struggle as I try to make
sense of what is happening in my own life, there are seasons where I’ll just
have to trust and stop guessing. Never
stop praying, mind you, but surrender the cockpit.
Help me, Father, to seek Your will above my own. Lead me where You want me to be. If nothing can separate me from Your
love, and even death does not hold me bound, then why would I fret over any
path You lay before me? Left, right, up,
down? Quiet my heart in the loud moments
and help me to hear only Your voice. Because
you are here. And You see from a vantage point that I never
will.
That alone gives me the confidence to know that I am
going…going somewhere indeed.
