Where Dirt Bikes Roam

“So, the LORD must wait for you to come to him, so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” Isaiah 30:18

When our son Michael was a little boy, Bruce and I decided to give him what he most wanted for Christmas…a little dirt bike.  His best friend Sam Winget had one and they enjoyed riding around his family farm many days.  Bruce and I never committed to him that we would buy it, but it was front and center on his Christmas list with little else listed.  Once we decided to buy it for him, we wanted to do it right, so we made little clues all over the house for Michael the morning of Christmas.  Before that morning, he was constantly talking about if he was going to get it, when he might get it, and the exact one he wanted.  We were well-aware the dreams of his heart and the joy that lay ahead.  But, we were not willing to give it to him until Christmas morning, and we were determined to give it to him with our flare of mystery.  It was so hard keeping it from him, and when he would bring up the subject I would just have to be silent.  The joy that we saw expressed in his face, and the gratitude of his heart were even more satisfying than I ever imagined.  The gift was for him, but the joy was equally ours.

There are some things…some dreams…some deep desires…that are front and center on my list.  Like Michael, my list isn’t long, but the few things are intense.  They are things I constantly talk to God about wanting.  I’m sure I pester Him about the when, what and how of receiving them.  But in considering this today, a smile stretches across my face as that parent who was ‘in the know’ of when the desire would be fulfilled.  This is how I’m picturing God as my dreams are delayed.  He is up in Heaven smiling at Jesus as they go over the clues that I will discover over the next stretch of waiting.  They meticulously sync their heavenly calendars to make sure the proper time is inked in on a specific date.  They stay silent on it when I once again begin that conversation about that thing I so want.  But one day without my knowing, I will awake to find that the dream is now reality, and the desire has been lovingly placed in my hands.  And they will share in my joy, because they are the Ones who made it happen…and my part was to wait…believe…and receive.

Smiles don’t get any better than the one in this picture, and joy isn’t any sweeter than being the parent who makes it happen or the child who receives the dream.  Keep on dreaming, keep on believing and keep on smiling.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20