Have you ever had a day that just didn’t seem to go as planned? Derailed… that’s the word to describe it. But it was derailed in such a beautiful and wonderful way. I don’t know exactly what it was that caused us to fall a single minute behind schedule, but there we were getting out the door about a minute late. Okay, so maybe it was two or three minutes.
We drive our elementary-aged girls to school, along with my niece, each morning. The alternative was for them to be getting on the bus at 6 a.m. When they can’t even go inside the school building till almost an hour and a half later, we decided to drive them the ten minutes down the road. And wouldn’t you know it – the bus for our middle and high school kids is right by my niece’s house! So, we just drop them off on the way. But not that morning.
I had so many plans for the day. Okay, so I’m really not that overrun, but I did have something I was planning to do. But we left the house about one minute (maybe it was three) later than normal, and the kids missed the bus. They were all perfectly fine with not having to ride the bus, but this meant an additional hour taken from my exciting plans.
I had planned to drop the kids off at school, take care of all of the gazillion animals that are in our care, and then put in a few hours of work (I have a side gig doing some bookkeeping). I absolutely love a good spreadsheet, and I was finishing up some new ones to help backup and streamline the flow of information for a local business. Yes, I was excited about a couple spreadsheets.
But it was the time after getting done with the spreadsheets that I was really looking forward to. If my calculations held true, I would have at solid two hours to peruse a couple thrift shops… without the kids! But instead, I came home from dropping the kids off feeling completely derailed.
As I went through the house, trying to be productive – doing some dishes from the morning, folding some throw blankets, starting a load of laundry – I kept trying to figure out how I could contribute more than the typical housework. We’re not struggling, but I’m not homeschooling anymore. That’s a huge amount of time that has been cleared from my plate! And with that time, I’m not one to just sit around and twiddle my thumbs.
I thought about getting some Christmas cards painted for an upcoming sale… then I thought of finishing my rooster painting (also for the sale). I thought of a half-dozen other things, but I kept coming back to the same voice that was tugging at my ear. And this is what it kept saying:
Your schedule has cleared… spend some time with Me.
Have you ever noticed that what we need to do isn’t always what we need to do? I need to get more cards painted for the sale, I need to finish that stinkin’ rooster painting (it’s been months!), and I need to work on about a half dozen other projects. But God knew what I really needed to do. I pulled out my Bible and proceeded to spend the rest of my day reading through scripture.
What a balm to my… well, to my everything! I felt flustered with the morning, discombobulated after getting home, but leveled and rejuvenated after spending time with God. It was the most productive time (without being productive by the world’s standard) that I could have had.
Maybe you’re wondering if I had any grand epiphanies when I finally closed my Bible and got ready to go pick the kids up from school. Not really. Maybe it was a really good time spent in prayer? Again, this time was nothing really to write home about. I know, I know… I’m obviously writing about it, but there was nothing in what I studied that made other study times pale in comparison.
Except for maybe one thing (okay, maybe three).
Take a look at Matthew 13:3-8. This is the parable about the man who scattered his seed across his field, but some seeds landed on different types of soil. His field, I’m sure, was the good soil. He had cultivated it… probably got in there before planting and did some weeding, removing rocks, added some mulch, did some composting… He had made sure to do the prep work.
But not outside of his field. But what part of this world isn’t within God’s purview to cultivate? After taking time to think about what I read through on my supposed derailed day, I can’t help but know God to be the farmer who scattered His seed across His field. And there’s not one type of soil that is a lost cause.
Maybe you’re familiar with how hard and compact the dirt is on a trail… seed has no hope of penetrating the surface! It’s hard, immoveable, and stubborn – refusing to listen or learn. This trail has been walked on, compacted, and burned by the sun for so long that it has forgotten what to do with seeds. It doesn’t understand it’s purpose, the seeds have no protection (and aren’t viewed worthwhile), so the message gets stolen – ripped away.
Perhaps you can relate to the shallow, rocky soil. You have a hunger for God – you hear the Good News and you’re excited! But there are things you just can’t seem to let go of. Maybe you have trauma that you can’t bear to let anyone know about… maybe an addiction that crowds out the seeds that sprouted. Those rocks are the something that’s caused you to believe that you can’t trust God’s goodness. Nothing can ever take strong root when competing with rocks.
Maybe you had an encounter with God that could have been a life-changing encounter. Until you started thinking about all of the things you needed to do. You’re starting to get the past-due notices, the car is making a funky noise, and you’re hoping there’s enough paycheck at the end of the month to pay something down. Or perhaps your worries are more in the minor category. Getting the kids to the bus stop in time, coordinating pickup for afterschool activities, getting stressed out trying to have a meal together as a family, and for goodness’ sake! Get the kids in bed on time!
Sometimes the derailment can be an opportunity for soil cultivation. It’s one of the many things I’m learning that I love about God – He never leaves us how we are. There are times that He sees the state of our soil and sets about to make some improvements. And He’s so very gentle!
Over the last eight years, God has unearthed and removed so many rocks and thorns. He’s taken time in loosening the compacted areas of my heart, pouring His grace and love out in order to make the soil rich with nutrients and ready to receive seeds that will sprout in the warmth of His Son.
All because I had a morning that derailed my day, I was able to be reminded that God created the very first garden, but He never stopped tending it.
No matter what soil type – maybe like me you have a bit of them all – my prayer is that you’ll allow God to cultivate it. Allow Him to remove what has hurt you (and may still be hurting you), allow Him to do some digging and bringing in what can enrich your spirit, and choose to trust Him one thorn removal at a time.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
