Where are we going?

I knew the 1995 Nissan pickup would become a hit with the family when we brought it home in early 1996. That vehicle, one of the best we have ever owned, first demonstrated its faithful service that fall as Hurricane Fran devastated the Raleigh area. The truck, buried under a pile of tree debris that night, earned a few dings and scratches, but in the coming weeks Nikky Nissan (as my daughters named him) would haul barrels of water to friends struggling to do life without power. No power meant no water pump and no pump meant non-functioning toilets on those humid ninety-plus degree days. I did not much care for the nickname one brother from church gave me as I backed into his driveway sloshing water, “Johnny Flush is here!” but I understood his sentiment.

That truck moved two daughters into and out of college over eight years of semesters, helped us create the venues for two weddings, and all told carried us through twenty-six years of hauling, toting, and delivering. And then the Grandkids came along! They loved the truck as much as my girls did.

I have so many memories of that truck, but one sticks fast this morning. It centers on Michelle, preteen and full throttle playing in the yard, who. upon seeing me heading to the truck with my keys in hand, yelled, “Hey, Dad! Can I come?”

“Sure! Let Mom know you’re going.”

Mom, of course, checked to verify proper clothing, clean face, and hair tied with a pony-tail-holder. (Michelle’s hair not mine.) We ran with windows down, and later, as her legs grew longer she usually had one foot propped up on the door frame blocking the passenger side mirror. This event repeated many times over those years. Funny to me was how often we were well under way before she turned and asked, “Where are we going?”

The destination did not matter. She was along for the ride and the time with Dad. Who cared where? Her confidence was that I had the trip planned, possessed the money for whatever we needed including a candy bar at the gas station, and that I would protect her and provide whatever she required along the way.

Ouch! Can we see the spiritual application already brewing in this account? Too many of us want to drive. We want to know the destination and all the details before the engine starts. We question every turn and stop along the way. And we miss the fellowship with our heavenly Father.

God does not reveal most of that stuff to us until later, or maybe never. When we struggle with His every choice, we miss out on the joy of having our hair blown by the wind, singing at the top of our lungs to the Veggie Tales cassette plugged into the player. We don’t get the chance to savor that bag of Skittles or M&M’s He treats us to. In short, we miss it.

Let’s do ourselves a favor. Let’s shut up and get in the truck. God knows where He’s taking us. All we have to do is trust Him. I love the words Job penned in the book by his name. He had questions about the why of some major life events, and God did not answer. How did Job take that?

“But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. 

Job 23:10-12 NASB

Is that the way I see the twists and turns God executes in my life? Is my confidence high that His goal is to turn me into gold? Am I certain that His path is the surest, the only one with a positive future?

That’s certainly something to think about.