Grumbles and Hope, part I

It was Sunday. I was driving from Houston to Dallas for a two week stay. I was happily driving up I-45, moving easily through the light traffic, listening to great tunes, cool and comfortable and ready for the adventure ahead of me. Only one hour into the trip, traffic came to a standstill. Thirty minutes later, I had to stop for gas. Ten minutes after that, my air conditioner quit and the windows opened to the hot Texas wind. Thirty minutes after that I had to roll up my windows because of the thunderstorm that hit…

I know how to grumble. My family can tell you that I have been the self appointed Community Thermometer (“It’s too hot”), Activities Director (“This game is lame. Let’s do something else”), and the Future Forecaster (“I don’t want to go to the concert. It’s gonna be boring”). But thankfully, I’ve experienced (and am still experiencing) the journey of maturing in my faith and my attitude, and have left behind at least a few of my undesirable habits of yore. It’s not that all of a sudden I have the proper consumer label on my forehead (“New and improved. Now with 75% less grumbling”), but I have something that fills me so full, that I find fewer moments to spend on purely surely griping. I have Hope.

I tell you this because, well, I know me. I know the difference between being wrapped up in the straightjacket of complaints and the freedom of having no worries. I may have concerns about things, things that deserve one’s full attention, things that require time, discussion, debate, and the voices of a community, but worry? With Hope becoming my constant companion over the years, throat-tightening Worry just doesn’t have the authority that I used to give it.

David (of David and Goliath fame) wrote Psalm 25 and speaks about his take on having hope.

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame. Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (Ps 25:1-2a,3a,4-5 NIV)

If God is in control and I live my life trusting in the hope that he offers, then I just don’t have to let life’s problems overwhelm me. Because I have hope:

… I was content and happy to be driving to Dallas. When traffic stopped, joy- I found a better road that helped me avoid the grinding halts. I had to stop for gas, but joy- the place I stopped had inexpensive gas and a spot opened up just in time. My A/C quit, but joy- the wind blowing through my hair kept me cool and the great tunes lifted my spirit. The thunderstorm made me lose the wind, but joy- I tried the A/C again and it worked. As I encountered each presumed setback, I knew that God was revealing better paths for me and giving me exactly what I needed, when I needed it. So then …no worries when your hope is in God. I’m just enjoying the ride.

(tomorrow: Grumbles and Hope, part II)