Unwanted Visitor

Paraphrased Excerpt from my book, A Mother's Heart Moved the Hand of God.

We finally arrived at our new home and four exhausted bodies walked through the front door. Needing sleep but feeling excited about being in our new home, we looked around. The two girls looked around the living room and went down the hall to the bedrooms. Hilary made some comments about the red cement floor, and why did the windows have bars over them. Donna and I went through the dining room and into the kitchen. The rooms seemed large and the house smelled of fresh paint.

We stepped into the kitchen and I thought Donna was going to blast off into space. On the door of one of the kitchen cabinets was a spider about as big as a baseball. You know the kind I'm talking about; the big hairy kind, like on the sci-fi or National Geographic channels. Well, I went for the first thing that looked like a weapon, a fly swatter, he, I think it was a he, I don't really know, was almost as big as my weapon. Not only was he big, he was really fast. In a micro-second he was down the door front and through a small gap in the kick board. Man, I'm glad he didn't run at us. I don't know who would have gotten out of the kitchen first. I hate big hairy spiders.

Unexpected and unwanted visitors come our way all too often. Our expectations spell out to our mind how things should happen. We should have walked into our kitchen, looked around at the cabinets and big windows, peered outside from the back door and moved to the other rooms in our house. Expectations are always subject to the unknown or unexpected. You go to the doctor expecting bad news and he tells you things are fine and you will live. Or, you go to the doctor and he/she uses the dreaded C word. Your mind reels and a knot forms in your stomach so fast it takes your breath away.

How do we prepare for the unknown and the unexpected? Should we try and think of every little thing that could happen and build our life around that. Should we hide in our homes or venture out only when we have too? How about this, throw all caution to the wind and live a carefree and reckless life. Neither seems very smart. The Psalmist dealt with this when he said, "Don't lean on your own understanding, but, in every thing you do acknowledge God and He will guide your days." I kind of like that advice. I do not know what is going to happen today or tomorrow. But, I do know the One who knows.