The Moral of the Story

Cindy Trane Christeson

“Put everything in God’s hand and eventually you will see God’s hand in

everything.” -- Unknown

I have had a physically and emotionally draining week. Physically, I’ve

moved furniture, done some spring cleaning, put things up in the attic,

brought things down from the attic, done more spring cleaning and moved

more furniture.

We finally have our new carpet. We had a major house flood right before

Thanksgiving and have lived with “creative decorating” ever since. Due to

a variety of reasons, we didn’t have the carpet installed until

yesterday. Looking back, it was worth it.

When the carpet came, Ed, the installer who is also a friend, reassured

me that everything would be fine.

“Don’t worry, Cindy, leave it to me. I’ve done this before,” he said.

“I’ll take care of everything.”

And he did. After all, Ed specializes in carpets.

Ed and his crew knew exactly what they were doing. I knew I’d just slow

the process if I got in their way, so I left them in control.

I admit that I worried and asked myself, “What if I chose the wrong

color? What if something goes wrong?” But we’d prayed about it, the color

seemed right and the timing seemed right, so I trusted God.

I’m happy to say that I’m thrilled with the results. When I look back at

times I’ve trusted God with people, plans or problems, I am amazed with

God’s timing and surprising outcomes.

I also had an emotionally draining week. Our oldest daughter, Kelly, came

home for spring break, which was wonderful. We walked together, ran

together, biked and swam together. We cooked and cleaned together. We

sang, we prayed, and we cried. When we needed to work or read, we did so.

We were happy being in the same room. It doesn’t matter what we do with

Kelly; just being with her makes it a special occasion.

On Sunday morning, Jon, Kelly and I went to church together. Sunday

afternoon, Jon and I put Kelly on a plane to Buenos Aires. She’ll be gone

for five months -- which explains the emotional drain.

Kelly is going to study and travel in Argentina. I admit I worried and

asked myself, “What if she chose the wrong country? What if something

goes wrong?” Then I realized that we’d all prayed about this -- the

country seems right and the timing seems right, so I’ll trust God. He’s

already surprised us with his unique timing.

Her flight was overbooked, so she was put on a later plane, which gave us

time to go to church. She was then bumped up to business class for the

first leg and first class for the long flight to Argentina. Isn’t that

just like God to give us first-class surprises now and then?

I don’t want to get in God’s way or slow his process and plans for Kelly.

He knows what he is doing, and he is in control. He even loves Kelly more

that Jon and I do.

When I pray for Kelly I sense God reassuring me and saying, “Cindy,

leave her to me, I’ve done this before, I’ll take care of everything.”

I trust that God will do just that. After all, God specializes in people.

And you can quote me on that.CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach

resident who speaks frequently to parenting groups. She can be reached

via e-mail at cindy@onthegrow.com or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140

No. 505, Newport Beach 92658.