A Bad Dream Turns Good
John Fischer

Most of my life I have had a recurring dream where I am trying to get to a ball game in which I am supposed to play, but for one reason or another, I never get there. I forget my mitt and have to go back for it; the roads that normally take me to the ballpark take me somewhere else; or I’m walking but my legs don’t move fast enough.

Well my dream busted in on my reality last weekend when I was in route to a Los Angeles Angels game in Anaheim with my son snoozing in his car seat, and my car broke down on the freeway within sight of the big “A” (a stadium landmark). It felt just like a dream, too, because a bushing gave out on my accelerator, meaning the harder I pushed down on it, the less response I got, until the accelerator was on the floor and we were slowing down to a standstill. Game time came and went before the tow truck even arrived.

At that point I had to make a decision whether to go on late to the game and take a taxi home or accompany the tow truck driver to a garage near my house and let the Angels play the game without us. I chose the latter based on the fact that, for a five-year-old, watching a car being loaded on and off of a flatbed truck, and riding in the cab were two activities that undoubtedly trumped the ball game. (The Angels did fine without us, by the way, and won the game.)

Once we were back near my house, I decided to stay out with my son since my wife had been looking forward to a rare evening with the house to herself. Chandler chose gourmet chicken dinner at Kentucky Fried, and then we spent the rest of the evening walking around our town on a lovely June evening listening to street musicians and checking out any art galleries that were still open. I was amazed at how interested he was in paintings and sculpture. (He’s only five.) It turned out to be a delightful time together. Surprise!

And then there was the tow truck driver that we accompanied for the 40-minute drive to our favorite garage. I can’t say we talked about Jesus, but we brightened his day and I fully believe that the fragrance of Christ was evidenced in ways I could never explain anyway.

If we are not an accident, then we could also say that accidents don’t happen to us — only changes in plans that we are not informed about. God is always working on His purposes in and through us. Plans are okay to a point, just as long as our plans don’t get in the way of His purposes. And when He changes them, instead of getting upset, we need to ask what He has in mind now.

PDL