When PopPop's Chair Becomes a Hot Rod

Once upon a time, two little grands climbed up into PopPop’s big office chair and begged for a ride. PopPop was happy to help the little thrill-seekers have their every wish come true. With their Big adventurous spirit and growing imagination, their new hot-rod was on the race track! They were facing the competition of a lifetime, and victory was within their grasp! Their dreams were coming to fruition!!!

ALL WAS WELL!

UNTIL. IT. WASN’T! (Disclaimer: No Littles were harmed in the making of this video – Though a certain Mimi may or may not have had a slight heart attack) Click below to see what happens!

Have you been doing your thing only to have life throw you an unexpected disappointment? Has everything seemed good until it wasn’t? I get it! Sometimes, life stinks.

What’s a gal to do when there is an unwanted surprise at the end of her dreams?

When an unexpected disappointment bumps into my plans, I remember the story of Joseph. Joseph in the Old Testament was given a dream of leadership and prominence. It included his family bowing before him in honor. It was a vision of future success and power. However, soon after these dreams, his life met unexpected circumstances. Disappointments included being thrown into a pit by his jealous brothers (Genesis 37:24), being sold into slavery (Genesis 37:18-36), having another person lie about him(Genesis 39:10-19), and even landing in prison (Genesis 39:20). On top of all that, he was forgotten for years (Genesis 40:23).

You could say that life threw Joseph disappointment after disappointment. I imagine Joseph sitting in isolation behind his prison walls with nothing but time on his hands. I wonder how often he thought about his aspirations. Did Joseph doubt the long ago dream because of his reality? Life certainly was not as he had hoped when he bragged about his future. Disappointment and despair could have filled him while in his prison. I don’t know about you, but I would have been tempted to complain, given up, and collapse in the fetal position. Joseph could have as well, but there is no recording of Joseph’s pity party. What the Bible does record is his Godly character, wisdom, and leadership. Scripture tells of his faithfulness during temptation. He climbed to high positions in every hard circumstance. He rose to the top displaying Godliness (Genesis 39:1-9) (Genesis 39:20-40:23) (Genesis 41:1-45). Friend, Choose Holy, even in your Hard.

Toss your doubts, but hold your dreams. If you, like Joseph, have been given a God-inspired dream, and if it does not come into reality today, tomorrow you know to try a different tactic. Ask God for His wisdom. Seek Him for guidance and strength. Toss your doubts, but hold onto your dreams. Maybe God is using those very setbacks as a setup for the fulfillment. Have you noticed that the bad things that happened to Joseph were steps towards his dream? God has also promised to work all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28) With that solid promise, you and I can bloom where we are planted. We don’t have to wait until things are not hard to be happy. We can hold on to our God-given dreams believing in His timing all will be accomplished for our good and His glory. I pray God will hasten the day when we go from our prison to the palace.

That day when PopPop’s chair turned into a race car the grands begged for another ride, even after the fall. As soon as Mimi and PopPop knew their girls were ok, PopPop gladly made their wish come true. They trusted. They asked for more. They dreamed. So can you and me. In fact, I’m ready for a ride of a lifetime!!! What about you? Let’s choose Holy, even on our hard days. Let’s toss our doubts and never let go of our dreams.