Curt and I recently spent three weeks in China. It seems only appropriate that my first post after returning would be based on "The Story About PING", a classic children's book by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese. In case you don't know the tale, Ping is a "beautiful young duck" whose home was "a boat with two wise eyes on the Yangtze River". We didn't visit the Yangtze, but we did enjoy our time in Kunming and Beijing.
If you haven't read the book, don't despair, it may actually be easier for you to grasp what I'm trying to share. If you know the story well, I pray that you'll be right beside me as I unpack my thought process.
Our trips are filled with lots of motion and interaction. Planes, buses, taxis, cars, and our feet keep us active. The friends we meet and make keep us hearing about and sharing the goodness of the Lord in all circumstances. Nevertheless, the Spirit provides many, often subtle, opportunities to get to know the Father more intimately and grow in grace.
When things don't go according to plan, assuming there was any possibility to have any semblance of a plan, there is always a choice to make - trust God or freak out. It was at one such juncture on the faraway streets of China that I began to ponder my options. The situation was scary and there simply wasn't anything I could do about it. I wanted to trust my loving Father. After all, He's God, Maker of heaven and earth, the One who made me and called me, who sent His Son to shed His blood for my soul and then gave me to my Redeemer to shepherd through this life with the guidance of His appointed Counselor, the Holy Spirit of God. What better place to put my trust!
The truth is that I find it a lot easier to sense my confidence and trust in God when I'm having an intellectual discussion than in the midst of overwhelming trials. I chalk that up to my human frailties and life in a fallen world. Even as the crisis was unfolding I caught my inner self reminding me that God knows the end from the beginning. Not only that, but His sovereign hand controls all of the steps in between. And God coordinates each and every detail along the way for the benefit of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
"Okay then," I decided, "I can trust You, my Father, in this harrowing experience because You know exactly what's going to happen and it will be for my good. I have no idea what it will entail and, just so you know, my feelings are telling me to bail out right now."
Believe it or not, that's when PING came to mind.
You see, I had read the story to a group of children the day before. If you've read it, you will be where I was - knowing how the tale would end though the children did not. I knew what Ping's life was like on the Yangtze River with "his mother and his father and two sisters and three brothers and eleven aunts and seven uncles and forty-two cousins." I knew how Ping's days would unfold, what he would do and eat, and how he would feel about the Master's behavior at the end of the day. I even knew how Ping would react on that fateful day.
Those of you who don't know PING are sitting beside the children in my story hour. You're also sitting with me as I felt the panic rise as the helplessness of my situation washed over me in my crisis. What's Ping/am I going to do? What's going to happen to Ping/me? How's it all going to turn out - for Ping and me?
I began to contemplate how I might have had Ping's story unfold had I been the author. I'm not sure I would have had Ping choose to do what he did. I could have written the story to save Ping from the results of his decision. Ping would have had a much happier day, if he chose differently. Then it dawned on me that Ping might not learn the valuable lesson, if he didn't have to face the circumstances he did.
Hmmmm, maybe my adjusted version wouldn't address Ping's maturity level too cleanly. Perhaps he'd be right back where he was on page one. I conceded that there might be some wisdom in the authors' addressing Ping's growth and development in the first instance. My version might have appeared more gentle, but I might not be serving Ping's best. It was interesting to contemplate such possibilities having the inside knowledge.
My crisis continued to unfold. I asked the Lord for His intervention and, impatiently, some insight into how the terror was supposed to be good for me.
Suddenly, I saw the comparison between the author of a book and the Author of life. I knew what was going to happen to Ping only because I'd already read the book. God knows what's going to happen in my life because He's the Author of it. God knows what my life is like on Loon Pond with my Honey. He knows how my days will unfold, what I will do and eat, and how I will feel about what comes across my path. He even knows how I will react in the face of every situation.
I am not able to read ahead in the book of my life. I am as unfamiliar with the upcoming pages as those of you who haven't read the book are unfamiliar with what happens to Ping. Whenever I read PING aloud I find a sweet, secret sort of confidence that may echo with those of you who know the story. As the children walk through the ups and downs of Ping's adventure they may wonder what will happen. They may feel the same tension that Ping experiences. Until the last page they don't know how it will turn out, but I do.
I know the end of Ping's story so I don't go through any of my listeners' wonderings or feelings. I walk with the first-time hearers appreciating their responses and hoping to communicate the calm assurance that it will be a "happily ever after" ending. When I close the cover and look up we rejoice together that Ping is safe at home. I catch a glimpse of what my walk with my Father might be like from His vantage point. God knows what's coming. He is not subject to the doubt and emotional stirrings we experience. He is communicating His calm assurance about the just and joyous rewards of heaven. "No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Isaiah 64:4; Corinthians 2:9
I am able to rest in the everlasting arms of my Father as I remember His perfect, sovereign providence. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11 "And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 Amen
