Where there is no vision the people perish.
Proverbs 29:18 KJV
The new Director of Children’s Ministries at church was very persuasive. She asked me to be in charge of Bonus Days. It was tempting because it was a cool new activity for middle schoolers and my son Jackson would be participating for the first time that summer.
Bonus Days was an ambitious undertaking. I knew immediately that I didn’t have that kind of time in light of my other commitments. As the parent of young children, my opportunities for volunteering seemed almost endless. I had left my corporate career to take on several new job titles including team mom, assistant Cub Scout leader, room mother, and director of Vacation Bible School. I was stretched thin and my family got a steady diet of leftovers (both figuratively and literally).
I needed divine guidance to keep my life from getting out of control. I was feeling pressure from the Director to make a decision. After praying about it, I sensed God leading me to take on just a portion of Bonus Days. I agreed to organize the fast food lunches for the week and to recruit parent drivers for the five field trips. I didn’t volunteer as a driver myself because Merrill Lee was too young to participate. She would be in the nursery in the mornings and I felt led to spend the afternoons with her.
I went into the week with a great lineup of lunches that included Chic-Fil-A and Taco Bell. Fun moms had signed on as chaperones for all the afternoon activities. Except Visionland. Few parents were eager to spend a Friday afternoon at a water theme park in the middle of July. Even though I hung around the parking lot every morning and afternoon attempting to coerce other moms into filling their cars with wet children, glaring blank spots remained on my roster as the days passed.
My resolve to maintain my boundary began to weaken. I finally caved in and agreed to drive on Friday. This was not a Spirit-led decision on any level. I was fully aware that I was being a people-pleaser and choosing to override the guidance I’d received from the Lord. I’ll never forget that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me that I had ignored God. I had chosen to disobey the instruction He so graciously had offered when I asked.
I was loading kids into my Volvo wagon for the trip to Visionland when I saw my friend Regina on the sidewalk. After explaining the reason for my unease, I asked her to pray for our afternoon. She said she would pray and then spoke a nugget of wisdom that resounds in my heart to this day: “Fear of man brings a snare.” (Proverbs 29:25) No truer words have ever been spoken. I knew that I had fallen into that trap.
As I made my way to the theme park, I prayed silently, “Lord, I ignored your instructions. I feared disapproval more than fearing You. Please forgive me for my disobedience and foolishness.” My heart calmed a bit knowing that God is faithful to forgive when we own up to our sin.
Though the day was extremely humid, I never noticed the bank of cumulonimbus clouds building in the sky above. The kids didn’t seem to mind the heat as they went from the water slide to the roller coaster. I was focused on keeping my group and their belongings together as the sky grew dark. All of a sudden there was a deafening crack of lightning. Within seconds we were in a full-fledged thunderstorm, rain pouring down in torrents.
I grabbed my little charges and pulled them to the driest place I could find. We huddled under the awning of a snack stand as a lake formed around our feet. French fries and swimming goggles floated by unattended. Above us, as lightening crisscrossed the sky, I realized that every structure in the park seemed to be made of metal. Nearby flagpoles and kiosks were veritable lightning rods.
I was terrified that someone would come to harm in this terrible storm. I was also very aware that God sent a storm when Jonah deliberately disobeyed Him. Like Jonah, I was willing to face my fate—whatever version of being thrown overboard and swallowed in the deluge is something I knew I deserved. But the overriding message for Jonah and for me, is that our God pardons iniquity and passes over the sins of His people. “Because He delights in mercy.” (Micah 7:18)
As we waited out the storm, drenched and shivering, I poured out my heart to God, “Father, I have learned my lesson! By Your grace, I will remember that where there is no vision, the people perish. I will not be so quick to mistake the needs I see before me as my job to fill. Please remind me to seek Your guidance before I give an answer next time.” As I opened my eyes, I realized that the rumbling in the sky had moved into the distance and the sun was breaking through the rain. God was giving me a second chance!
Over the years, I’ve told this story many times. People find it funny; I think they identify with the way I wandered from God’s path when the pressure was on. While some may have mistaken the furious storm I encountered that day to be God’s punishment, I don’t see it that way at all. Rather, I marvel that God could teach me to live by vision in a place named Visionland! God’s love and humor never cease to amaze me. Nor do I take lightly the mercy that He extends, even when I have gotten off track.
When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.
Proverbs 29:18 NLT