My best friend, Celia, and I were waiting in the car at her daughter’s church. We’d stopped by the church briefly on an errand. Celia’s young granddaughter dropped her toy and began to cry.
Standing, I held on to the armrest on the middle seat to brace myself, leaned over and reached for the toy. Just as I was touching “wabby” with my fingertips, the armrest gave way and I did a head first nose dive over the seat. Ohhh mercy sakes!
I was wedged between the space at the end of the seat and the window; my nose on the floor and my rear pressed against the glass on the sliding door. Unable to get up or down, I began to giggle at my plight. Tightly wedged in the small space, l had no hope of righting myself.
Celia jumped out of the van and started to open the sliding door. I felt myself falling backwards and started hollering, “NO! NO! Celia, do NOT open the door!” She shouted, “I HAVE to! I have to open the door NOW to get you out!”
She YANKED the van door open and I flew out of the van taking her down with me in the gravel. We floundered for a moment getting bits of leaves, twigs and dirt in our hair. We were tangled on top of each other laughing so hard we couldn’t even BEGIN to get up when we noticed her daughter standing there with a VERY serious looking deacon.
Dorothy falteringly said, “Deacon, this is my mother.” The Deacon did not even blink an eye as he said, “The one on the top or the one on the bottom?”
Sometimes, in our zeal, we do the same thing with plans in our life. The idea we have is great but instead of spending time in prayer and preparation, we “yank the door open.”
We need to seek God and make our hearts sensitive to the direction of the Spirit before we rush in. We shouldn’t avoid or neglect the event or activity; just make sure our plans are grounded in solid preparation. Enthusiasm without knowledge is not wise!
(Prov. 19:2) “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.”
Prayer: Father God, thank you for having a plan for my life. Help me to listen to your direction through your Word and your Spirit. I want to listen and follow in the path you have made for me. I love your guidance. Amen.