When You Need a Loafing Shed

Last weekend my sisters and I visited a wildlife preservation with our grandparents. On the way home, we were driving along a lonely east Texas road when my sister cried out, “Stop!” For the past few weeks, she had been looking for a small loafing shed and noticed one on the side of the road—all by itself in a field.

I was not too sure this would be the one for us. It was rusted in several places and held together by pieces of wood. At first I thought the roof had blown off, when my sister explained it was upside down and had blown over, probably by the winds of change.

I began asking a few questions: “How are we going to transport it?” “How much would you pay for it?” “When would we come back for it?” “Are you sure this is the one?”

As we are parked on the side of the road, I suggest she take a few pictures for Dad, knowing he would want to see our find before driving almost two hours for a structure I was not sure we could even move and (even if we could) doubted if it would be worth it.

My sister was deciding on how much she would offer when we drove up the driveway of the house next door to see if they knew anything about the shed. We pulled in, and she wondered if maybe she should go up and knock on the door. “That might be an option,” my grandpa said, “if there was not a fence and a huge dog sitting on the porch.”

We took note of the address and decided to maybe visit another time.

Not until the next day did I learn that our dad had purchased a new loafing shed that day around the exact time we stopped on the side of the road to take pictures of what might have been our worst mistake. He found one at a good price, picked the color, and ordered it, all while we were away.

I could not help but consider how often we as Christians pursue something lesser—trying to make it work, relying on our own resources—when God at the same time is working for our good and transforming us more into His image (Rom. 8:28-29). While my sister and I were trying to figure out the details, my dad was designing and planning for something much better.

God’s plans for us are greater than we could imagine, and He has given us a gift He paid for in full. We may be trying to make something “work,” when He is making us new. We may be struggling with our questions, when He is already answering. We may be working out of our own knowledge and resources, when He is providing out of His abundance.

Overall this situation was a reminder of Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s purpose prevails.” We have our plans. We envision what we would like, but God’s idea is much greater and better than anything we could try on our own.