Once upon a time there was a child who went for a ride with his mother and father. He sat in the back seat, along with a couple of brothers and sisters. It began as a nice quiet ride through the city. They stopped at McDonalds and got a drink and some fries to eat along the way. Then continuing on, after awhile they left the city and started driving on the freeway. Cars went speeding by them and big trucks and buses. For hours they were on the freeway and the children got restless and so they stopped at a rest stop and everyone got out to stretch their legs and move about before getting back in the car and continuing on their way. They drove and drove, the sun went down and still they kept up their travels. They stopped at more rest stops and service stations and McDonalds and the parents took turns driving while the other one slept. This seemed to go on forever, the kids got cranky and tired and then!

Finally at long last, they got off the freeway and drove onto a little country road. First it was paved and then it was gravel and finally they turned off of that road and it was just a little dirt road through the trees. And lo and behold up ahead the road stopped in front of a little house. "This is your grandma's home," the parents said,"we will be staying here for a couple of weeks." The kids stared! This? A dog came roaring around the house at full tilt, tail wagging and started jumping excitedly around the children. They saw two swings hanging from an old oak tree and off in the distance a small pond.

The next couple of weeks were the best ones those kids had ever had. Every day was a new adventure. It was only years afterwards that the children found out what had caused that long, long ride. Their father had lost his job and for the parents it was a very hard time. But they had prayed and decided to make this trip. It changed the lives of everyone of them forever. They learned new ways and made new friends and yes, the dad found a new job. It didn't pay as much, and they never got a fancy house or car - but they had days and days of fishing in the little pond and swinging on the swings and playing with the dog. They became a family like they had never been before. They watched sunsets and falling stars and made memories that lasted forever. The End.

God has a plan for each of us. A plan to make us happier and more fulfilled. We might have to spend some long hours on the freeway - but there is a better place at the end of road. God's ways are not our ways - but God's ways are the best ways!