I believe that God has incredible places He wants to take me (and you) if we will only listen to Him and follow His direction…this lesson really hit home this week in, of all places, Chic Fil A!
Charisse and I have our date mornings every Saturday…and the other week we were at Chic Fil A eating a biscuit and drinking some coffee. NO…SHE wasn’t drinking coffee…it will be at least six more months before she gets to begin that! :-)
We’ve been to Chic Fil A a lot on Saturday’s…but for some reason I have never taken her to the little indoor playground in the back. We usually just sit together…she eats a pack of crackers AND a lot of the cheese off of my biscuit, she gets a balloon and then we pack up and go home.
But the other morning was different. I walked back into the playground area and saw that they had a part designed just for toddlers (yes, she IS walking) and so I took her in and put her down about 10 feet in front of a mural with a bunch of cartoon animals painted on it…
And she went crazy…GOOD CRAZY…she began clapping her hands and laughing and then she screamed and ran towards the painting. As a dad I wanted time to FREEZE right there…there is hardly anything that compares to seeing her filled with joy…and I will just about do whatever it takes to take her to places that will elicit that response out of her.
Before the day she had no idea that the toddler area in the Chic Fil A play area even existed…and she would not have known had I not carried her there. It was an awesome experience.
Later on that day I was thinking about that experience when I felt the Lord say to me, “Hey Perry, that’s what I want for you! I want to take you places you’ve never been. I want you to experience things you’ve never experienced. I want to make you aware of things that you have no idea that even exist. Follow me!”
I was floored. I wasn’t anticipating God rocking my world as a result of my 11 month old having a blast at Chic Fil A…but He used that to radically get my attention. And I cannot wait to see what’s next.
I read Isaiah 30:21 the same morning that this happened…and was brought back to it later on that day as a reminder that, IF I continue to LISTEN to Him…follow His ways…that I can’t go wrong in life. That doesn’t mean that everything will always be simple and easy…sometimes He will lead me through uncomfortable places…but in the end I know that He will get the glory and I will ultimately experience joy. And THAT’S not a bad thing…not bad at all!