I was outside this week-end and noticed that the maple trees were finally going to seed. The ground was covered with all those tan colored seeds with the long tails attached. My mind went back to my childhood when each spring we would go out and collect as many as we could. Then, we would go upstairs and drop them from an open window and see if we could guess where they would hit the ground. Remember how they spin in the air and don’t seem to have a predictable path?
I would take a handful of seeds and sit on the ground, altering the tails to see if I could find a way to control the trajectory as I threw them through the air. I even taught our son, Andrew, in addition to Kristin and Jill, how to alter the tails. We used to call them “whirlybirds” – or helicopters. My grandmother knew how much I liked this annual tradition and so she would actually go out in her yard and collect jars of seeds so I had more ammunition to work with. And it was no easy task to be able to predict where they would land – but that didn’t stop me from the challenge of trying. In fact, when I got really frustrated, I would remove all the casings and wind up with a pile of skinned green seeds what could be fired from a pea shooter. Talk about a blast from the past!
So this weekend I had some fun reliving the days of the past. And you know what? It’s no easier to figure out where those seeds are going today than it was 50 years ago. Some things never change. You know what? Sometimes our lives are just like those whirlybirds. We can try as hard as we can, but we just can’t control where our lives are going. Sometimes, we try to alter things to have a more predictable outcome – but even that isn’t reliable. Things can just end up going any direction – just like those maple “helicopters.”
Many times, when that happens, we get frustrated and upset. And depending on where your life is when you can’t predict any outcomes, your peace can get easily disturbed. That’s not a great place to be. Then, it’s time to turn to God and pray for peace. In fact, a sort of divine peace that you will be okay with whatever God decides for your life. The verse for this evening is the last line of a famous benediction that you have heard numerous times. Moses tells us, in Num. 6:26, “the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” That’s what we all need – the Lord to turn His face toward us – and shelter us with His peace.
My encouragement this evening is that with God all things are possible and that when He is in control of your life, everything will turn out for the best. My prayer is that you will seek the face of God, like Moses himself did, and that you will make God the pilot of your life – because only He knows where you are going and where you will land. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…