Joy in the Journey

In December 2010 we had a van with a bunch of miles on it, electronic problems, and a 'shimmy' in the front that sent us rocking right along.  When the dummy lights started coming on, I, like a dummy, took it in for a change of spark plugs.  While there, I walked the parking lot looking at vehicles because I am a man that cannot sit down very long in a new car dealer service department waiting room while one of my babies is back there getting torn apart by a dude that may be working the meter real hard.  Every time I drink that coffee, I think, "how much am I paying for this cup?"  It is nerve racking.  Although my daddy can fix anything with a MacGyver kind of talent- "Get me duct tape, a hammer, that foil gum wrapper, and take your belt off."  (My brother cleaned every ditch in our county out with our volkswagen bug that was then handed down to me.  My daddy kept it running.  Only 3 wheels touched the ground, but we rotated them often.)  Even though he could fix it, I learned that you are still supposed to get strained when car trouble comes.  Now pile on top of that the fact that I am so dumb about cars that I have to look up what the dummy lights mean, I really panic and get ill when car trouble comes.  It is my nature and my nurture. 
Back to my story..so I am walking around the car lot blowing time and steam and I see the MacDaddy of all vans.  Everything we wanted in one, it had.  I drove it, took it to Dawn to see, got a price on my old van while they were doing the tune up and could not drive it (wink, wink), and told them how I was a poor, litttle country preacher just needing some stable transportation that happened to have every entertainment device possible and the capability for the driver to eject anyone at a  moment's notice if he choose so.  Two hours later we had a new van.  I was blown away (and still am) at how easy the sale went.  They must have took me to the cleaners, but it sure don't feel like it! 
Now, I said all that to say, that I bought that van with another matter in mind.  With the Southern Baptist Convention being in Phoenix, I wanted to take the opportunity to drive outwest and see stuff I had never seen.  I  wanted to see the stockyards of Oklahoma City and make it to "Amarillo by Morning."  I wanted to see the scared woods, or the pertified forest, and spend the night in Albuquerque. I wanted to ride up to Flagstaff and down to Phoenix (what a roller coaster!).  I wanted to see the Red Rock, the Grand Canyon, and the Million Dollar Mile.  I wanted to drag my family through every loving minute of a 4000 mile journey over two weeks and I wanted them to play video games and watch movies quietly all the way!! And do you know what.... I did, we did and it was great! ....except for one little matter.  In a new van my children could not eat or drink in it.  We had some squeeze bottles that they could use when they were going to dehydrate, but only because we did not get the IV option on the new van.  About the time we got across the bridge out of Memphis (100 miles in), I heard something like you find in Exodus 17:3-4- But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” ⁴ So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” (www.lifejournal.cc).  I am no Moses, but right into Arkansas, I did lift up my eyes and say, "What shall I do?  They are ready to stone me!" or something like that. Actually it was a good trip, but let me get to my point. 
God can surround us with the greatest blessings that we could ever imagine.  For the Hebrews it was the opportunity to escape Egypt and journey to their promise land.  For my children it was videos that they did not have to hold in their lap.  He can give us everything that we need: peace in the midst of the journey, the promise of the destination, and the guidance along the way.  But even when He does, we have a tendency to bellyache and whine along the way.  We cannot see around the corner of tomorrow and because we live with indefinites, we panic and want to go back to living like we really believe we can control our own destiny.  Today, we are in the midst of the journey.  We are not happy about all that comes along the way, but if we will pay attention, we can see some beautiful sights.  We may not know what is ahead and that indefinite makes us shaky, but let's remember, we know Who is ahead and we know who controls it.  He has not led us this far to let us thirst in our desert.  Lean on the Living Water and keep all the matters of this day in the right perspective.  I hope you have joy along the journey!!