Unexpected Obstacles

This morning started out as a typical morning—up and getting ready for the day by doing the things I do every morning, with the added task of making sure the trash is out because it’s Tuesday, trash day at the Bullards’. Most mornings Tami heads off to work before I do. I tend to stay in bed a little longer and for some reason today the bed felt really good. So, now I’m ready to head out the door and I start looking for the key to my car. It doesn’t take long before I realize that it’s not here, Tami has it. You see, on Mondays Tami takes my car to work so I can drive her SUV to the office. Every Monday, the staff goes out to lunch together after our staff meeting and for some reason the men just don’t like snuggling up in the back seat of my car. I don’t understand what their issue is because I’m just fine where I’m sitting! LOL… anyways, to help keep the staff happy I borrow Tami’s car so they have plenty of manly room in the back seat. 

When we get home on Mondays we really don’t think a lot about keys and cars because we have to get dinner going, talk about the day, and figure out what has to be accomplished that evening. Before we know it, it’s time to go to bed, and our last goodnight of the evening is not, “Where are my keys?”

So I walk out this morning and realize I have no car keys. I have to make the dreaded call, and I call it dreaded because Tami has been gone long enough that I know she is at least halfway to the office. When Tami answers, the first words out of her mouth are, “I have your keys.” She realized it as soon as the phone rang and we both knew that our days were not starting in the way we had planned. The good news is that Tami loves me and told me she was heading back. Twenty minutes later, I had my keys and we both were off to start our day.

Every day I wake up with a plan as I continue my journey as a Christian. And even though I have a plan, it doesn’t mean that things are going to go as I planned. Obstacles will come along that can be minor, like forgetting a car key, or major, like discovering a problem that can’t be solved by simply taking twenty minutes to go back home. Whatever the obstacles are, they are not meant to discourage or cause us to give up but instead to teach us about the realities of life. Some obstacles are created because of my ignorance while others are just part of the process of everyday life. Use the obstacles to help you become more complete in Christ. Use them to help you grow the character of God into your life, and soon you’ll be impacting others in a positive way with the gospel message. The greatest thing we can do is help others face the obstacles that cross their paths by pointing them to the true answer, Jesus Christ.