Sometimes a detour can take you to some pretty fun places. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and the other evening when my friend, Judy, was driving me home on the freeway from work, Ken was out for the evening and so Judy and I were free to do dinner together. About halfway home, we ran into some thick traffic. Now we had planned to stop by the market and just eat at the house, but it was stop and go, stop and go and it was getting late. That’s when we decided to get off the freeway and eat at Coco’s – kind of a Denny’s style restaurant. Well, we entered the door, looking forward to a quiet dinner, when I nearly ran over three children running up the aisle. I looked around the restaurant and it was full of young families with pre-schoolers. It was a little loud and crazy, and everybody, it seemed, was wearing a party hat and holding balloons. That’s when I looked at the sign by the hostess desk. Tuesday night at Coco’s, kids eat free with the balloon man.
This was not going to be a quiet, leisurely dinner after a long day at work. Not a chance to unwind. This was going to be a party. Not what I expected, but it was going to be fun. And so, although the restaurant service was somewhat slow, Judy and I had fun trying to figure out all the different characters the balloon man was creating for the kids. He and his assistant even dropped by our table – they had a really funny panda-shaped balloon I could wear as a hat if I wanted, but I smiled and deferred to the boys and girls, insisting that he should save his balloons for them. And I tell you, it was so cool watching their fascination with balloons being twisted into every imaginable shape: puppies, clowns, and octopus and pandas.
There’s an old saying that goes, “A contented man is the one who enjoys the scenery along the detours.” We usually think of detours as interruptions in an otherwise well-charted path. True, detours can be viewed as problems which slow us down and disrupt our plans. However, sometimes the detour doesn’t involve problems, but people. In order to build contentment, God places people in our path; but God never considers them as interruptions… especially children of pre-school age. And in a way, watching those kids probably provided a nicer break than just sitting there with Judy and not saying a whole lot. They were, in fact, no interruption at all. Their smiles and giggles were something to behold.
You know, friend, God is the one who is in charge of our days, and sometimes a day can be full of surprises. I think detours, interruptions, and unmet expectations are God's way of helping us hold life loosely; relax, not be so uptight; be flexible. And discover joy in the smile of a little boy or girl. Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6, “… do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” The secret of being content is to take one day at a time. Not five years or ten, but one day.
It was Bill Gothard who said, “Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. It is realizing that God has already given me everything I need for my present happiness.” Friend, what person has God placed in your life to remind you to be content? What detour has he taken you on recently? Whatever it is, it’s all for some marvelous purpose of the Lord’s. For even God can make something wonderful out of Tuesday night at Coco’s where kids eat free with the balloon man. Oh, and hey, if you have a similar story I’d sure love to hear it. You can post it on Facebook or visit our radio page at joniandfriends.org.
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