“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” Proverbs 16:9
~Sovereign God overrules the plans of men to fulfill His purposes~
Bundled up with hats and warm coats ready to head out into the crisp, sunny morning. Looking forward to embracing this last “predicted” sunny Fall day before the rains hit. Our destination – Scenic Multnomah Falls! First stop hot cocoa and mocha, then off to take in the breath taking beauty of the Columbia River Gorge. All ready for our dreamy day.
But…..God had others plans.
Ready to walk out the door, I discovered my keys were gone. And a long ways gone. Like 40 minutes away gone at the home we visited last night as a family.
My dreamy plans were rocked briefly, until I took a deep breath and remembered the prayer I had prayed earlier in the morning.
“Lord please direct my steps today. I want to be where you want me to be. I cannot do this day without you. I need you. I am weak and You are my strength. Please give me patience today instead of my fleshly irritability, give me peace and calm that only You can provide to take precedence over my flesh that would remain anxious filled left to it’s own. Amen”
Direct …. my… steps….
And He showed me clearly His direction and it was not to be traveling by car anywhere, and not to Multnomah Falls.
The boys and I regrouped and headed out for a walk. A walk through our Gresham city. We tromped through crunchy leaves, marveled at the sun breaking through the fluffy clouds and blue sky. Worshiped the Lord as we proceeded down the sidewalk – “the sun comes up it’s a new day dawning, it’s time to sing Your song again, whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes”.
We walked on….
to Fred Meyer, where I grabbed myself a warm coffee and picked up the card game UNO we’ve had on our list for a time now.
Lunch time approached…
We walked on …
Shared a meal together at Panda Express and played a few games of UNO inside our comfy resting spot.
WE laughed, we ate, we played…
And my boys paused and both said one after the other – Thank you mom for taking us here today. It’s okay we didn’t make it to Multnomah Falls, this has been so much fun.
And I shared… that God is the one that took us here today – and God has clearly directed our steps. Not our plan, but God’s plan.
The Lord led and we stepped out and discovered His blessings! Calm, peace, and patience a gift from Him today.
We walked home… and those warm fuzzy, furry boots were more than I could bear
We walked on… bare foot on the cool pavement. (well Max and I did). Letting go, letting loose. Maximus enjoying his moment of living “wild n’ free” bare foot, hand in hand with mom.
A dreamy day – and I thank the LORD that He truly directed our steps.
What was His purpose in all this? I don’t know fully. But I do know that it was where He wanted us today, and it was good.
This reminds me of other things recently that He has allowed to take place in order to increase the faith of my children. A trial they faced, really our whole family faced-choices to be made that were painful but knew we must obey. Sometimes we see the blessings immediately like today in this very small example of walking in faith. Other times, we must trust, obey and wait and wait. Then one day… we see it all so clearly and why God directed our steps this way… I marvel to see a light come on in my boys’ lives when they’ve been through a significant trial and they see the other side of how God was orchestrating it all and how He took them through this to bring blessing and His best for them. I marvel when I actually hear them… and even more when I “HEAR” Isaac speak it out like I did the other day- that he recognized the goodness and blessings of God taking care of us. That the Lord had taken us down a path that once seemed uncertain and now it all just made sense.
Not all things will make sense that happen to us in this lifetime. Some things will only make sense when we meet our Savior in eternity one day. Believing His promises and personally knowing the Savior who “works all things together for our good” will be the faith to carry us on today, tomorrow and all eternity.
I pray with each life lesson, I can direct my boys to the Savior, that it will be another faith building opportunity to prepare them whatever challenges greater they may face as they press on in Jesus.
“the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way” Psalm 37:23
