Tip of My Iceberg

Years ago, after living in Idaho for four and a half years, we were able to move back to Wisconsin; closer to family and enabling us to do holidays with people who knew us well. We had Thanksgiving with John’s family in central Illinois and planned on Christmas with my family in Chicago.

We’d packed our bags, and I was getting everyone up. I walked into our daughter’s room and stopped cold.

She was covered with spots. Chicken pox..

I wasn’t thinking clearly. I thought, “Surely this isn’t a big deal. We can still go.”

My dad had never had this disease; for him to get it at his age would have been rough at best.

Our plans for our first Christmas at home with my family evaporated like drops of water on a hot skillet.

Our kids were disappointed. I was miserable.

Disrupted plans are always discouraging.

Fast forward to this Independence Day. The plan had been to have a barbecue at our house with the four of our kids and their families who were in town and then set off fireworks in our cul-de-sac.

Until Ward woke up vomiting.

The plan changed. Ward and his family began their drive back a day early, without fun family time or fireworks. Without one more time with cousins.

Disappointment and discouragement. Everyone felt it. We were all disrupted.

Disruption is part of life. All of us will have times when we’re discouraged with the way things are turning out, when what we expect doesn’t happen as we anticipated.

Jesus experienced this with the men He worked with.

Near the end of His ministry here on earth, He told His men He would have to suffer horrid things at the hand of the religious leaders which would lead to His death.

Peter had other ideas.

“But Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him for saying such things. ‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’ Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to Me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, NOT FROM GOD’S.’” Matthew 16:22-23

Peter believed he knew what was best, what he wanted to see happen–he wanted to see Jesus continue to minister to people, not die. But Jesus came to do just that–to die in our place so that we’d have the chance to live with Him in heaven. He covers our brokenness with His wholeness. Jesus called Peter “Satan” because he tried to stand in the way of what Jesus came to do.

Disappointments often lead to opportunities we wouldn’t have had had things gone the way we wanted. We can’t know the whole picture; God does and has our best at heart.

Ward and his family were able to stop and enjoy a night of rest as they paused halfway home. He felt better and was able to enjoy time in a pool with his sister.

Disruption doesn’t need to lead to despair. It can lead to greater blessings than we can imagine.

If we let God refocus our hearts and minds.