The Pretty Red Jeep

A pretty red Jeep. It’s not brand new, but it’s exactly what she wanted. To her it’s freedom and maturity. To me, it’s letting go and moving on.

She checked online auto sites almost daily and was constantly on the lookout for just the right vehicle. She considered several different models. I almost talked her into a hot pink completely restored vintage Volkswagen Beetle but she balked when she learned that air conditioning wasn’t an option. She considered lost of makes and models, but she fell head over heels for the Jeep Cherokee and not the Grand, just the plain, basic Jeep. We checked it out and decided this is one vehicle that we could live with.

We looked all over, traveling hundreds of miles over the weeks as we tracked down an elusive used Jeep that met our requirements -- low miles, good maintenance records and within our price range. No luck. We just couldn’t find one that met our needs. Finally, we were ready to give up – and even our sweet – almost- 16 daughter was willing to settle for her second favorite when the pretty red Jeep showed up. We found it on a car lot that I pass every day and is only two miles from the high school. After traveling miles and miles, the very thing we were searching for was right in our backyard – or pretty close by.

That pretty red Jeep may say freedom to my darling almost 16 year old daughter, but not to me. As I talked to the Lord about this new place in my life, I asked Him for wisdom to walk this new path. A path that doesn’t require me to take and pick up children from school, something I’ve been since my oldest started Kindergarten in 1992. That’s 17 years of traveling for those who are counting.

As I considered this new beginning in my life, I realized that this is all a part of God’s plan for my life. He knows what happens next even if I don’t. He’s planned out the days that follow today and tomorrow.

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your
book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed. (Ps
139:16 NLT)

What a blessing to know that I serve a God who is able to handle everything. Nothing throws Him. He continues to be the Great I AM even when I struggle to figure out what’s going on. He is the Rock on which I stand.

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He
only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly
shaken. (Ps 62:1-2 ESV)

God alone is my Rock, my Redeemer, my Fortress and my Salvation.
In a few weeks, when my baby girl drives off alone for the very first time in that pretty red Jeep, I know that God will be the Rock on which I stand. I know that He has a will for my life and for hers. I know that He is in control and I will trust in Him.

So, as I step out of the role of driver of children, I’ll look back at these years with great joy – well, most of it was joyful. There were those days when nothing seemed to go right and no one could get out of the door on time, least of all me. I’m looking forward to where the Lord is leading me. I’ll remember far away and close by; because God may just have the very thing my heart desires right down the road – just like that pretty red Jeep.

Where is the Lord leading you? Are you in a season of change for your life?
Maybe children are heading off to school next year or off to college. Are you’re considering a job move or another career related decision is on the horizon?

Where ever the Lord has you today, look to Him for wisdom and discernment for where you are heading tomorrow.

May God give you great joy and peace in the journey you are traveling.


In Him,

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