The Joys To Come

I'm sure you might get tired of my Kristina stories but when you're 17 you tend to do some of the dumbest, funniest, thought provoking things ever. There are days that I think Gabe, who is 13, has more sense than she does. That child will one day fly the coop and I shake my head many days thinking watch out world... haha

.

So, anyway, that intro leads me up to my story today. Kristina totaled her car a few months back and we got her another one. It is a 1995 so there are leaks here and there, noises here and there and we are having to fix them one at the time. Piece by piece. We laugh and say before long she will have a brand new car! But, anyway, she sprang an oil leak this week again and we had to put it in the shop. Yesterday afternoon after work I ran home to pick her up so that we could go get her car. We drove home without incident and pulled into the driveway.

.

As I got out of my truck and began walking towards the porch I realized that she was parked entirely too close to the banister. She was already getting out of her car when I hollered out as I walked through the kitchen door "Back that car up!" I went on in through the house into my bedroom, began changing my clothes when I heard Gabe yelling "Mom, Kristina can't get her car out of park!" I felt a wave of frustration start to boil over me when I took a deep breath and started back through the house towards the back door.

.

As I walked down the steps she sat in her car with this look of total devastation. "I can't get it out of park, Momma!" I looked at her and then said "Well, crank it!" I guess my sarcasm struck her wrong because she immediately began to talk to me like I was stupid. She held the keys up in my face and began to demonstrate how to put the key into the ignition and then she started her play by play. "Okay, I put the key here, I turn the key, the car cranks, I put my hand on this knob, I pull back and it goes into reverse...ummmm...see Momma...it won't come out of paaaaaaark!!!!" I began to grin and simply said "Try putting your foot on the brake...that should fix the problem!" She glared at me and said "I never put my foot on the brake to shift out of park!" At this point I'm rolling. I'm laughing so hard I can barely hear what she is saying and in between trying to catch my breath I said "Kristina, the ONLY way this car has EVER shifted out of park is if you had your foot on the brake!"

.

She slammed her foot on the brake and wa-la she was able to put the car in reverse. It was magic! She backed up from the porch, got out of her car and slammed the door. By this point I'm bent over the steps laughing and she is just standing there glaring at me.

..

Oh the joy that comes with overcoming our troubles. So many times we just sit there complaining about how we can't get out of park and all we need to simply do is put our foot on the brake. The joy is there, maybe we can't see it, but it's there. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 tells us not to focus on the trouble, but to look for the joy that is unseen. "So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." (MSG).

.

Troubles are going to come but the real victory is the joy that comes in the morning. I can't see it but I know it's there. I can't even begin to imagine how it is all going to unfold, but He knows. I refuse to whine and complain about how I can't get out of park because the day will come when He will simply lift my foot, press it down on the brake and wa-la my car will shift out of this frustrating gear I'm stuck in. Trust me, friend, the joy is going to come!