A Wild Path

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

The Texas wildflowers are in full bloom right now and we hadn't ventured out to see them yet. Rumor has it they aren't going to last much longer so I thought I'd better take advantage of the overcast afternoon - thinking great natural lighting for outdoor photos. It wasn't until I was aimlessly looking for a private field of wildflowers where the kids could safely play and pose for photos, that it occurred to me that I might get lost.  I had no map, no GPS, and four toddlers in my car which meant no stopping and running in somewhere to ask directions. Chris is not available for the "can you mapquest something for me and tell me if I'm going the right way?" type of calls at work, so I started to pray.  It was something like, "Okay God, sorry I didn't really prepare here, could really use your help".  I decided on trying to locate the field we'd found with my parents last year. I traced our drive from a year ago, praying continuously, "Lord, please tell me if I need to turn."  Nothing was looking familiar, nothing felt right until I needed to turn and then, suddenly I'd remember.  Then another straight away and I'd doubt some more, but yet again, a turn I needed to make would come up and again I knew I was back on track.  We got to the field and man, what a disappointment.  I had passed a dozen or more fields that were far brighter, prettier than this one right off the highway.  But the kids were sick of being in the car so I parked next to the sparsely-flowered field and decided we'd picnic under a tree and plan to find another photo-op with a map and Daddy on another day.  

Still, it turned out to be a perfect afternoon. The boys were so excited about all of the abundance of sticks that they barely noticed the lack of flowers while Sophia loved every flower she could find and simply running up and down the hill. I enjoyed the safety the spot allowed and the shade under the sprawling oak trees was pretty nice too since the sun decided to poke out after all.  

All said and done, I couldn't help but ask myself if I truly am trusting God to direct my path. Am I leaning on my own understanding too often? Not allowing things into my life that might look like a bust yet be just the place God needs me to be? I'd like to think he'll direct my path in spite of my strong will to be in control - it'd just be a lot easier if I'd trust him the whole way.

And so there I was in a field enjoying my kids in full bloom...

"We're free!"

(Cohen, Sophia, Noah & Finn)

"Awe shucks, picking just one bunch won't hurt..."

(Sophia, Noah & Finn)

"Look, Mom, I can touch the sky!" 

(Noah)

"Flowers are yummy...."

(Finn)

"I think I found one of those flowers you were hyping up the whole way here!"

(Cohen)

"Blue skies, bluebonnets and the wind in my hair - doesn't get much better than this!"

(Sophia)