Ariana and I are playing outside with two friends: one who’s three and one who’s six months. The 6-month-old is in my lap while Ari and her friend explore the front yard. I’m carefully keeping the little one in the shade. The two bigger girls are enjoying the warm sun shining down after spending most of the morning inside eating goldfish.
Now that we’re outside, they pop the bubbles as I blow a new gust their way. The little one in my lap gazes at the iridescent circles floating toward the big girls.
“Won’t be long until you join them,” I tell her as she kicks her legs and arms at the same time.
After a few minutes of bubbles they move on to the next thing. It’s not long until the sidewalk chalk makes an appearance. The three-year-old has some purpose to her strokes while Ari’s are aimless. I notice that the girls are regularly switching up their colors but not their location. They have at least 12 colors between the two of them, but it’s all crammed into a tiny space. Their artwork takes up no more than one square foot of the driveway. It looks so minuscule as I gaze out at the giant grey slab of concrete.
“You have the whole driveway,” I tell them. They’re not even a little bit interested in my advice to expand their art.
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That evening as the sun’s setting, I walk outside to grab the mail and put away any stray toys that are still in the yard. I make my way back toward the house and I glance at the driveway masterpiece from that morning. Once again I notice how tiny it is in comparison to the expansive driveway.
“You have the whole driveway.” My words from earlier echo in my mind.
This time, I’m hit with the realization that this must be how God sees our lives. We’re coloring in our tiny 12-inch box and asking him why we can’t have something over there. Something that someone else has.
A bigger house. A new job. A baby. A wedding. More money.
“You’ve got the whole driveway,” is His regular response. “But you have to trust Me to get you there. You have to trust My timing. You have to trust My methods. You have to trust the reason you’ll face the hardships along the way.”
“I’d rather just color right here in this tiny box,” we regularly tell Him. And then we’re disappointed by the lack of results.
“When you’re ready to trust Me, I’ll open up this whole driveway for you.”
