Chocolates Along the Trail!
What we really want to know when times are tough is: Did I hear God clearly? Am I on the right path? Is He with me? What we are trying to discern by asking these three questions is: am I following God or me?
Even though the bible teaches us to expect storms (see Matt 14) when we follow Jesus, our natural reaction when the wind picks up and the seas get choppy is to question whether or not we should be in this boat on this sea at this time. If it looks like we might go under we want to make very sure we got it right!
God knows we are prone to doubt and worry so He helps us to follow Him, doubts and all. Because He loves us, He sends us assurances – I like to call them proofs — on a regular basis. I call these proofs chocolates on the trail. So what does “Hansel meets Hershey” mean for the Christ follower? Let me explain.
Some German friends of mine taught their toddlers to hike by bringing Hershey Kisses on their alpine rambles. They watched the kiddos closely and when they noticed they were ready to flop down on their diaper and quit, they would strategically place a chocolate a few paces ahead on the trail and then urge the wee one to keep walking because he might find goodies further down the path. It worked. They raised a family of avid ramblers by placing chocolates on the trail.
The best example of how this has worked in my life is the time I got a traffic ticket (totally unfair and undeserved of course!) when my husband was a seminary student in Mill Valley California. The $60 fine equaled two weeks groceries at the time. I was so upset I almost missed seeing the chocolates on the trail.
Two letters–one addressed to me and one to my husband–from the government of our home province showed up in our California mailbox soon after my run-in with the law. “Oh no! They found us!” was my guilty reaction when I saw the official envelopes, since I was still smarting from the hefty fine.
I opened my envelope and found something I had never seen before. It was a government-issued check for $32 labeled: “The good driver reward.” Seriously! I ripped open my husband’s envelope. His check was $43! I guess he was a better driver than me after all-at least, that’s what’s he’s always tried to tell me.
Chocolates on the trail.
In His grace, God was just making sure I knew, in the midst of my anxiety, doubt and guilt, that, yes, we were exactly where we needed to be. We were on the right path. He was definitely with us and would continue to take care of all our needs in wonderful, wacky ways. Our job was to stay the course and trust Him.
What’s happening on your “trail”? Have you faced some storms? (Please forgive the mixed metaphors and don’t tell Mrs. Legatt, my Grade 11 English teacher who always believed in me) Are you feeling a little wind-whipped right now? Is it causing you to question your position or your call? Start looking for the chocolates He is putting along the trail you are walking by faith. When you see one, stop and thank Him that you did hear Him right, you are on the right path, and you’re not alone. When you find that “chocolate” be assured that He is with you and He wants you to keep walking.
What have been some of your “chocolates?” Meet us in the forum or devotional and tell us about the sweetness of your chocolates!
Let me tell you about my big God and the sweetness He has poured on our family through the most turbulent year of our lives. Last November my husband became ill, baffling doctors or months. Nouri lives entered around urgent cares, emergency rooms, and hospitals from November to the end of January. He got out of the hospital and four days later I went into preterm labor 4 hours from home. .. And were not able to get back home for a month. We moved. We lost a sizeable amount on our home in fort worth. My husband’s great grandmother and mother died within a couple months of each other. I had a growth in my ear that destroyed 3 bones and attached to my facial nerve causing numbness. But God has DUMPED chocolates along our trail… Financially… Due to the kindness of countless people, we paid off the last of a crippling heap of medical bills last week. Those due dates on the calendar are now monuments to HIS faithfulness. Praise God! Physically… God has led us to exceptional doctors who are treating and continuing to diagnose my husband’s illness. Praise God! I was referred to the premier doctor in the U.S. for my condition and he was able to do surgery just in time… Before paralysis set in. praise God! Our son has Ben extraordinarily healthy for a preemie. Though he has a few muscle issues, there are doctors and therapists helping us treat him. Praise God! Our son’s early birth sped up our move which allowed us to be here for the last month of my mother-in-law’s life. Praise God! These are the big chocolates… There have been lots of little things like diapers, food, family close by to help, and on and on. What a big God we serve!!! Thank you for this devotion and encouragement. Blessings!
I am definitely wind-blown right now…. I guess you could say a full blown tornado! In fact I feel like I absorb one shock, then 2 more come. I definitely need some chocolate… I have a friend who uses a similar analogy. It’s a hugs jar… When either of us needs a hug, we ask the other to fill the hug jar. If she is feeling down, I tell her I am filling the hug jar now.. (She lives in Australia and I am in the US) I guess one of my chocolates right now is the group of ladies I have met through a hobby of mine. We are on an online forum, where God has sent me so much encouragement and “hugs” through some of the ladies there. I know that is one of the reasons He led me to the hobby in the first place… I get a tremendous amount of prayer support and love and I am able to offer it, as well! Thank God for chocolate!!!!!
Hugs to you ladies
I have been feeling like I did not hear God correctly 8 years ago when He called my husband to My home church to be pastor. I had been gone for 15 years and we were called back, but it didn’t take long for the excitement of being home to wear off! I have questioned God so many times to see if we really heard him correctly, but my husband seems to think we are where we should be despite the stuff flying around us & being piled on us. I was so pleased to read this devotion and be able to look back and see the chocolates that God has definitley placed on the trail that assures me that even in the midst of this stuff, we are where He wants us!
God has often provided like this in my life. I remember the first time he did this. It was my first year out of college. I was in a place I only expected to be for a year, so unfortunately I didn’t commit to a local church. I hadn’t been tithing as I always had before, and wasn’t making a great deal of money. I decided that I needed to start tithing again. That very week I got a check in the mail for the amount of the tithe I had given on Sunday. God’s reminders that He is our Provider and Sustainer.