Do You Trust God With The Impossible?

How good are you at trusting God with what’s on your heart and mind but out of your control?

Do you trust God with the impossible or do you fuss and squawk until there’s nothing you can do to make a difference and then slump into despair and worry? 

My son, Eli, graduates from bootcamp this week. It seems like only yesterday that he was toddling around the house in diapers. The years float by leaving a residue of precious memories to mark high state occasions. The first step. Every first day of school. Passing his drivers test. Watching him play football. High School graduation. His first job as a firefighter.

Each marker took Eli further and further beyond my ability to protect him. Joining the Air Force Reserves marked the final transition of my role from guardian to worrier, I mean warrior … of prayer.

The bestest of memories was the day he married Kym – the loveliest woman on the planet. 

I watched Eli walk down the aisle wearing a black tux and a big smile. He married the girl of his dreams and they ate and danced and schmoozed the night away.

And I couldn’t help but see how he is his father’s progeny. His smile, his hands, his dance moves and his laugh were all very reminiscent of his father.

I only wished my Hot & Hunky husband had lived to see it with me.

Ours was a love story resembling a fairy tale. We fell in love and were married. I eventually found my way to Jesus, and our fairy tale continued with the addition of two beautiful sons and a cat that didn’t get into the trash.

When Hot & Hunky died in his sleep of a heart attack at the age of 39, I thought it would be impossible able to carry on without him.

But God was entirely faithful and gracious to me, comforting me, reassuring me, sending people my way to support me while I grappled with learning to be a widow and a single mom to my 7 and 4 year old sons.

I know Hot & Hunky would have stayed if he could.  He would have kept our agreement to take the boys to the garage at the proper age to teach them about all things mechanical. He would have taught them how to drive a stick and how to treat women. He would have shown them how to tie a Windsor knot and spit-polish shoes and fix a leaky faucet and a thousand other things that a man needs to know. He didn’t get the chance.

In spite of all the trauma and drama, our boys have grown into men who know how to do all the things their dad would have taught them. What I thought was impossible was not a challenge for God.  

The opportunities to trust God with the impossible never end. Through impossible financial upheavals, health crisis, relationship conflicts, car accidents, job loss and even addictions, God has been faithful to us through it all as we lean in and let him lead us. 

Life is one long series of opportunities to turn over to God the very important things that are on our minds or hearts but impossibly out of our control.

As Eli’s adventures in the military continue, I’ll continue to trust God with his whereabouts and his safety. What impossible thing are you trusting him for right now?

Scripture: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Prayer: Thank you, God for knowing everything and being everywhere. God, I trust you with the impossible. Thank you for your constant presence in my life and for guiding me and my children through our grief and into wholeness again. Help me to trust you more. Amen