He holds our hand...
Sitting in traffic at one o'clock in the morning has become a hobby of mine. Not by choice mind you, but it just always seems to be in the cards no matter what time I leave the theatre. Just when you figure the least amount of people will be on the road and you will just glide right to where ever you need to go....there I was. Stuck.

As I sat there and contemplated my "stuckidness" I started to think about what we believe as Christians. Everything happens according to God's will. Everything happens according to the Father's will and nothing is with out His influence, right? So did that mean that God wanted me stuck in traffic?

As the traffic continued and after twenty minutes I had moved maybe ten feet I delved into my "God wants me in traffic" theory even deeper. So if God wants me to suffer through something as un-pleasant as traffic, does that mean that He also orchestrates the other bad things in our lives? Like catching the flu. Like getting a flat tire or a zit. Does God knowingly give us things that will require surgery? Does He purposely give us asthma or arthritis? If it is intentional what purpose can it mean?

It's un-pleasant to think that God purposely puts us into harms way. It's un-settling to think that God gives us ailments that require surgery or medicine. It just plain old stinks to think that God sticks us in things like traffic.

As I thought of it more something came to mind. My Mother taking me to the doctors as a kid. Not anytime in particular, just my Mom taking me to Dr. Annino's office. Shots and blood tests, sharp objects cutting and poking holes in us, things a Mother should keep her children away from, but instead when we are sick or when we need some help our Mom (or Dad I guess) schedules an appointment and drag us (kicking and screaming in my case) into their offices to be pocked and prodded with all kinds of terrific metal instruments. Where were our folks during that? No matter how much we may have told them we hated them for bringing us there, no matter how many times we may have tried to seperate ourselves from them in those times of trial....they were right there beside us, holding our hand through out the entire thing. God's like that.

I think many times we have to face un-pleasant things to learn a lesson, or to force us to go the next step when its the last thing we want to do. Just like when we are sick and our folks force us to suffer though the terrible ordeal of the Docs office. Just like those times when we need a shot, God drags us kicking and screaming to these situations. We tell him we hate Him for it. We try and break His grip so we can run away and not face the problem. But there He is every time, waiting to take us back. Sure God will still lead us to that problem, but just like our Mom, we won't face anything that He won't hold our hand through.

So maybe God has been hitting me with traffic jams to teach me patience. I guess I will never truly know. I truly believe that no matter what trial we face it is always to make us a better person and will lead us, even in the most round about ways, to being closer with Jesus.

I pray that the Lord helps me to see his face and know that He's there holding my hand, especially during times of trial.