lessons from a theme park part 2

Thinking about SixFlags earlier reminded me of some other lessons I have learned.

When I was a freshman in college, Tammy and I hung out with the youth group at our church quite often. Oh the stories that are coming to mind - some to remain only between me and Tammy and the few people we might trust with the embarassing details :)

I am going to share one embarassing story with you though, because I think there is a good lesson to learn from it. We were at SixFlags for Atlanta Fest; DC talk was going to be in concert. Being the avid fans that we were, we got up early, got in line early at the entrance to the park with the plan of RUNNING to the ampitheater to get front row seats. (Sidetrack for a minute - a few years later in life, when we were in our 20's, we actually did get front row seats at a DC Talk concert. Standing there in the crowd jumping up and down with the speaker blaring in our ears, Toby Mac looked down at us as he prepared to "jump" off of a tall speaker into the crowd below. Being a little older and wiser then, we shook our heads "NO" and backed up - see we do get a little smarter with age. Maybe there is hope yet) Back to my story... They opened the gate, I had a soda can in my hand, my youth minister behind me, I took off running - never slowed down as I ran past a trash can and threw my empty can into it - my youth minister said I could have won a heisman trophy for it - and I ran, and ran, and ran until I could run no more. I suddenly realized that I had NO IDEA where I was going. I spent a few hours just trying to find my youth group again. Of course when I found them, they all laughed at me - A LOT! What I learned from that was this: If you are going to run with determination, make sure you know where you are going.
Matt and I are running with determination right now. And all we know is that we want to go where God leads us. He has a few possibilities for his ministry and we are praying that God leads us where we are supposed to go. And I have been waiting for a very long time for another foster child after our foster baby passed away last year. I got a call yesterday asking me if I would take a little boy with some major medical needs. I said yes, of course, and was SOOOO very excited. I turned in a 2 week notice at work, bought some new stuff for the little guy, and my kids and I made lots of plans. Then this morning I got a call that it was not going to work out, and I am not getting him. That is what has led me to these last 2 posts - I feel like we are running with blind determination, and I am about to run out of energy. But... I love the rollercoasters, and if I will let go, trust God, and let Him lead me - I know I will get to where I need to be and have a wonderful time when I get there.