There are so many stories I could share about our vacation.  I could list the details of all the fun activities, fun inside jokes, and funny phrases spoken throughout the week, but one occurence that will stick in my mind for quite some time came at a moment that wasn’t the funnest.  In fact it was a mishap.  Something that didn’t quite go according to plan.  A lesson the Lord had for me.  It came to me from our sweet 7-year old… the heart of a child.

To set the stage for this occurence, it happened on a Tuesday.  After dinner, we decided to head down to the beach to snap some family photos.  Well, I shouldn’t say we, it was more of an “I” decision, stemming from a miscommunication.  I had mentioned the idea earlier to my husband, he responded with what I took as a “maybe”, later to find out it leaned more to the “no” category.  As the time came to make a yay or nay decision, he was enjoying a sweet slumber, so left to myself, I voted yes.  Now, back to said decision, I sensed I stepped on his “respect” button and was sensing this through the I-can-read-my-spouse’s-body-language signal.  Anyone following me?  I decided not to address the issue unless otherwise provoked.

Well… on our long ride to enjoy some putt-putt afterwards, I was feeling a bit provoked, and decided to approach the subject.  Let’s just say we had a discussion about our different perspectives and decided to agree to disagree (a nice way of saying we faced away from each other with resigned pouty faces and arms firmly crossed).  Ever have a moment like this on vacation?  So, we finally arrive at our destination, pull into the parking lot…slowly.  Seems as though every family on the strip had the same idea, AND the parking lot was in fact that, a parking lot with no one able to move.  After some clever maneuvering, we decided to drive to the neighboring restaurant and park there.  We parked, walked to the entrance…. and waited.  In the process of the fancy maneuvering, we lost my parents we were “following” us.  We waited.  And waited.  And waited.  By this time, it’s getting later, the girls are growing weary, and as we know, with weariness, grows whininess.  With whininess, my well-intentioned patience starts to drain like a tub.  At this point, neither Aaron or I are saying much to one another, but I sensed we were trying to ascertain the best solution for the circumstance.

I kept thinking, any minute they’ll show.  I glanced at the growing line and the many groups waiting at each hole.  My mind would shift gears and replay each thing I said and Aaron said in our car discussion.  I watched all the happy families leaving and entering.  My mind wandered to the possibility of my parents getting in a fender bender with the crazy parking situation.  Neither one of us had a cell phone on us, we were in vacation-mode, no way to know the location of the other party, and now it’s pitch dark.  We finally concluded that perhaps they drove to another course thinking we scrapped this one.  While deciding to wait just a few more minutes, I felt the small hand of a child slip into mine and I heard a small sweet voice calling me, “Mommy?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to pray?” “I just prayed, I wanted you to pray too.  Right now.”

Gulp.

“Uhhhhhhh, of course sweetheart.”

And right there, in the midst of the tension, the Lord’s child, given to me as a gift, was right where she needed to be.  Assured by her Heavenly Father, asking her mother to assure God’s plan for our family and for the safety of her Grandparents.  It was powerful.  It was humbling.  It brought tremendous peace.  And honestly, it transformed my heart, set my feet back on the right course.  It brought repentance, forgiveness, and restoration between Aaron and I.  And it was so amazingly sweet.  We ended up returning home, swapping stories with my parents, and chuckling about ways to ditch Grandma and Papa the rest of the week.  The heart of a child…