What’s Next?

I think I may have broken my little toe tonight. You know, the baby toe that’s supposed to go “wee, wee, wee, all the way home.” Yeah, that one. I was coming down my stairs and I don’t know what happened, but I fell right on my bottom, on the last stair. I landed where my toe smacked onto the hard surface. It’s really swollen right now. It looks like it’s pregnant. I have a little pregnant toe.

I can’t figure out what I did. I was coming down the stairs to get a glass of water, when “bam!” I’m sitting at the bottom of the stairs. I wish I could say there was a sock or slippery banana peel there, for me to slip on, but there wasn’t. I can’t come up with a cool skiing story because, well it’s not skiing season. It’s 84 degrees outside, right now. Of all my plans tonight, breaking my baby toe wasn’t one of them.

But then, my life, usually doesn’t follow any script. A few weeks ago, my sixteen year old, told me he was in a car with a drunk driver. His friend got taken away, and my son had to find his own way home. That wasn’t part of the plan either. I would never want either of my children, in a car with anyone drunk. It’s like a parent’s worst nightmare.

Back in November, on voting day, my car got smacked into by a lady going at least 70mph. I was coming home. I was literally thirty seconds from my house, when she destroyed my car. I couldn’t even drive it off the road to move it out of oncoming traffic. That was really not part of my plan. I don’t think car accidents would ever be part of anyone’s plan.

None of us knows what the future holds. None of us plan for accidents to happen. They just do. We go cruising through life, when bam! something knocks us out. We didn’t expect it. We didn’t ask for it. Who would ask for a car accident or a broken toe? Only someone crazy. I don’t count myself as someone who is crazy.

If we can’t tell the future, what do we do? If God doesn’t give us specific instructions as to what happens next, how are we to survive this life – this crazy, unpredictable life?

Since we can’t predict the future, our best plan of action is to trust the One who DOES know the future. For the believer, God holds us in His hands. He knows what’s going to happen next. He guides us through it all. He guided me through my car accident and taught me some things along the way. He protected my son when his “friend” was pulled over, so that my son was totally safe. I’m not sure about my little pregnant toe right now. I’m not sure how God will use that in my life. But God is the consummate teacher. He loves to mold us and shape us.

Now, more than ever, we really need to trust the One who knows the future. We’ve got North Korea throwing practice bombs our way. We have riots everywhere. Texas just got hit with hurricane Harvey. Every week, it seems, we hear of a new mass killing of people. And my little toe hurts like crazy.

If you need comfort, trust in God. If you need healing, trust in God. If you are scared, trust in God. It’s all we can do. It’s all any of us can really do. Just trust in the One who does know the future.