Are We There Yet? by Dawn White

Title:  Are We There Yet?

Scripture:  2 Cor. 12:9a – “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

Each year, my husband and I try to plan for a family vacation.  We have 3 daughters, so many times our excursions require us to drive to our destination.  We all love the oceans and beaches, and living in Central Illinois requires us to drive quite a distance to get to any ocean.  Therefore we spend a significant amount of time in the car.  And, if you have children, you’ve undoubtedly heard the famous question – ‘Are we there yet?’

As I’ve prayed and sought God through the Christmas season and beginning this new year, he has showed me that this has been the theme of my attitude the past 3 ½ years – Are we there yet?  You see, I graduated from college as a computer science major.  I landed the job that I dreamt of having with a large corporation.  I spent over 18 years in that job.   They weren’t always easy, but God opened many doors for me and I did well in my career.  Then God called me out of that job to stay at home with our daughters.  I was thrilled; I had longed to be a stay-at-home mom for many years. Finally, that door was opening.

Fast forward now to 3 ½ years later, the journey has been good, but not without challenge.  I find myself wondering, are we there yet?  When I left that job, I also left behind a very nice salary.  We were used to buying, within reason of course, extras, and pretty much doing what we wanted when we wanted.  We had limits of course, but we had money to spend much more freely.  

It is not like that now.  Every penny counts now.  Sometimes I don’t know how it will work.  But here’s the incredible blessing…in the scripture above, God promises that His grace is sufficient.  I remember one specific time when I didn’t know how we were going to buy groceries one week.  A friend (not knowing our situation) came by one day and brought us a freezer full of stuff.  One item was a garbage bag, not a grocery bag, a garbage bag half full of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Grace brought our groceries that week.  His grace is sufficient.

On another occasion, my husband had been working for a company where they provided uniforms for them to wear to work.  The pants were nothing more than jeans.  He loved them and said they fit him better than any he’d ever had.  However, he resigned from that job and moved to another.  When he resigned, of course he had to turn in all the jeans.  We had searched online looking for somewhere to buy that brand of jeans.  A few weeks later, we came home one day to find a stack of those very jeans lying on the door stoop.  Another friend had a connection to a uniform company.  These were irregulars that they were going to throw away.  There were about 12-15 pair of jeans, that looked like brand new.  Grace met our needs; it is always sufficient.

As I stepped into 2010, the Lord has reminded that he promises that his plans are good for us.  Jeremiah 29:11 says that his plans are to prosper us, not to harm us.  However, good and easy are not synonyms.  His plans are good, but not always easy.  Mary had the honor of delivering the Christ child, but she was also his mama that watched him be tortured and beaten, and hung on a cross to die.  As mamas, we cannot imagine the pain and heartbreak of such an event.  The plan was good – Jesus ascended and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.  But, the plan was not easy.

My journey has also been good.  Our daughters have grown and blossomed spiritually to amazing levels.  We are so blessed by that.  We cannot begin to put a price tag on that.  The journey has not always been easy.  We don’t have the latest and greatest vehicles or technology.  But our needs are met, because His grace is sufficient.

As 2010 has kicked off, I have determined to quit asking – are we there yet, but rather to appreciate the journey, confident that His grace is sufficient.  We all have a journey, yours is likely different than mine.  But whatever it is, I challenge you to join me in resting in the assurance that His grace is sufficient.  Just like a family vacation, when you reach the destination – it will be good.