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

We were in the car going to Boise again. My husband Dan drove while I enjoyed the scenery.How many shades of green there are in spring! Tiny apple green leaves unfurl on trees branches. Early grasses look like plush hillside carpeting. Here at home the pine trees are darker or covered with yellow lichen. Spring elsewhere is a green crayon box freshly opened. This day there was little northbound traffic. We’ve driven Highway 55 so many times that I’m barely conscious of the miles rolling by. Then Dan banked the car around a tight curve as he’s done a thousand times before, safely, keeping the car well under control.

Suddenly, a strong, physical sensation came over me. I knew that I was absolutely safe in the car with Dan, that I was secure while he drove, and in that brief moment, that all was well with my soul. I trust my husband 100% behind the wheel. He has always been an excellent driver, witnessed by the fact that for 50+ years of windshield time and dozens of worn out cars, we’ve had no major accidents. Thank God for such protection and favor! I’m never afraid when Dan drives because over a lifetime of knowing him, I trust what I know. My trust was complete and gave me peace. And then God…

… and lean not on your own understanding;

It was a teachable moment. God knows how difficult it is for me to trust. It doesn’t come naturally or easily. My birth family taught me the opposite: don’t trust others. My father loved me, but he wasn’t open with his children. Sadly, my brothers and I felt neither close to nor protected by him and I never learned to trust anyone else. Distrust became normal.

… in all your ways submit to him,

Through time and trouble, I’ve had to trust the God I did not know. Once I did, His grace became sufficient and changes my heart daily. I believe the Scriptures and I’ve seen miracles in our family life when I trusted God. I believe Jesus because He trusted the Father even to the cross. I believe that God is trustworthy. I really do.

This was different because for the first time I lived trust. It wasn’t a mental concept, idea or abstraction. It was as real as a heart palpitation and it pointed me to God. Trusting Dan behind the wheel is a tiny glimpse reflecting Him who has always been with me. He’s been watching, and protecting me through births and deaths, wars and peace, chaos and restoration. He is and has always been the trustworthy Father to me and my brothers.

… and he will make your paths straight.

If I could trust my life to Dan while encased in a steel box barreling along a curving highway at 60 mph, how much more this God who calls me daughter. And what of you? Today, will you risk allowing God to crush your heart and to trust Him alone? Will you abandon your former fear to run into His shelter? Say “Yes, Father” and I promise you that no blind curve on the road will ever separate you from His divine protection.