We are going to Disney! Yay! Everyone is excited. My two daughters were 8 and 10 and we decided to do a road trip from Texas to California. A 21hr drive that based solely on stupidity we decided to do nonstop.
So we are all packed. We have snacks, water, games … everything we can possibly need and of course our hearts are filled with excitement! We are going to a place where there is only joy. People are happy, the streets sparkle, there is music everywhere. It’s heaven!
The next day we wake up exhilarated. We got in the car at 9am and hit the road. The plan is to drive through the night and the Kids would wake up at Disney!
10am – The kids are watching a movie.
11am – The movie ends and they want snacks.
12 noon – “Dad can we stop? I need to go to the bathroom”.
1pm – “Dad we need to go to the bathroom now!!”
So we stop for lunch and the first sign of frustration emerges.
“Dad, how much longer to Disney?”
“Well, we still have a while to go.”
3 pm – “Dad I’m starving!”
“But we just ate lunch on our last stop.”
6pm – it feels like we have been driving for days … the kids are visibly sour. They don’t want to watch movies or play or eat; They are bored out of their minds and as the sun begins to approach the horizon they blurb out: “Are we there yet!?”
7pm – We stopped for dinner and remember the idea was the kids would go to sleep and wake up at Disney. How naive were we. As we drove into the night the noises and the shaking of the car made it difficult for the kids to sleep. Being tired and frustrated they just grew angry.
9 pm “ARE WE THERE YET!!!!????”
We still have 9 hrs to go. As we have not planned to stop for the night, I was hesitant to change plans while playing with logistics in my head.
“Maybe they will fall asleep and we can finish this smoothly. If we stop now the plan will be ruined.” I thought
Dad – Hey kids Why is Peter Pan always flying?
Kids – I don’t know
Dad – He neverlands.
“ARE WE THERE YET!!!!????”
12 am Kids – I want to go back home! I don’t wanna go to Disney anymore.
Dad – Just a little more. You guys don’t want to have fun! It’s going to be amazing!
Kids – No. I don’t want this anymore. It’s taking too long. I want to go back home.
As the night progressed the kids barely managed to sleep and at some point I saw that they had lost hope. For them it probably felt like they were trapped in the car on this endless trip to nowhere. I can imagine how frustrating it must be to feel trapped, to feel as if you are not making progress. All they saw was the car. They did not comprehend the progress we made, they did not understand the odometer and how many miles we had travelled so far. For them it was just frustration of an endless road trip.
Many Times I cry out to God “Are We There Yet?” and I forget that he has a plan. I don’t see his odometer, I don’t know how we progressed on his plan, and I forget to trust that His plan is good and I should focus on enjoying the trip, trusting the driver knows the destination. I know it’s hard. We are not kids anymore, but we need to trust in God that He is guiding us to the right destination and in the end, we will all get to Disney.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:2