What have you learned today?

I dropped one son off at Tae Kwon Do, as usual, on a Friday morning. My daughter and I then headed to Chic-Fil-A for a quick visit with my other son, who works there. Driving slowly down the road, I realized the cause of the hold-up was apparently a broken down vehicle in the lane. The driver, a woman, was waving people around in an exasperated fashion.

My daughter asked what was wrong, and I explained that her car was apparently not working. Very soon after passing the car, I felt that nudging, heard that voice. You know the one. "No one has stopped to help." "You could pull over to help." "In the grand scheme of things, where you're going and what you're doing, isn't that important." I, of course, argued. "What can I do?" "It's not like I can push her car out of the way." "I am sure she has a phone and already has help on the way." Then my daughter interrupted my internal struggle with these words, "Okay, Mommy, I prayed for her."

Ouch. I pulled onto a side street and turned around. I said to my daughter, "We are going to head back and see if there is anything we can do to help. I just feel like God is telling me to go back. We might not have enough time to go see Bubby, but this is important."
From the backseat, a cheery, "Okay."

As I approached the location, I saw that she was gone. I didn't see the car anywhere. It had only been a few short minutes. Hmmm...I tried to find an explanation for my daughter, a way to explain why I would feel that nudging when the situation had obviously been resolved.

"Even though the car is gone, it is still important that we turned around because..." (I was getting ready to say that we obeyed that calling, even if that was all we did) when my daughter interjected, "Because I got to see that God answered my prayer right away."

Wow. Yep. I was schooled by my 8-year-old. That really isn't anything new, if I am totally honest. I have definitely decided that God uses children to teach us stuff all the time, stuff about him, stuff about ourselves, stuff about trust and faith, and so much more. The important thing is to listen. I know for me when the days are crazy and hectic, and I am stressed, I am more inclined to turn a deaf ear, to ask for quiet, to focus on....me. That is exactly what I was doing that morning. I wasn't even stressed, but I had a plan and I was going full throttle ahead. I was not going to be interrupted. Until I was.

I am so thankful for a God who doesn't turn a deaf ear, a God who doesn't give up on me. I am so thankful for my children, these amazing instruments of joy, love, grace and...instruction.