Lessons from an Ice Fishing Hole?

Well, who knew that something I did over 15 yrs ago would come back and haunt me today, but yet teach me another valuable lesson in life!

I was walking outside this morning, down by the river, and watched the ice slowly break and drift down the river, and as I stood there I remembered my adventures with a certain ice fishing hole when I was probably 9 yrs old.

So what's the story? Well...Manda + Ice Fishing Hole + Foot = BAD IDEA! we lived in New Hampshire at the time, at a camp, and we walked down to Ayers Lake one day, and there were some ice fishing holes. Well, being the curious sort that I am, I decided that I would stomp on them to see if they were frozen over. Well needless to say one of them wasn't, and boom, down I went into the hole! I swear I shall never live it down! My dad has used it as a sermon illustration quite a few times. I should get paid for use of my life as illustrations. Anyway, it's kind of funny now that I think about it, but at the time it sucked cause I had to walk all the way back up to camp with a frozen leg, water in my boot, and it was quite a walk back! I remember my Dad said "If you had obeyed it wouldn't have happened!" Ok so I had a rebellious side at the ripe old age of 9...who doesn't?!?! LOL!

Well, that story, my story, triggered something in me today as I was coming home from my walk. Dad had given me instruction, "Don't go near it!", but I didn't listen and did my own thing anyway. There was a huge consequence for it too, a frozen leg in a wet boot, although it could have been worse! Now isn't that like what happens when we don't listen to our Heavenly Father? Sometimes we think that we know better as to how to live our lives, and try to take things, and situations, in our own hands, even though we know that it's not what He wants us to do....and we learn the same lesson that I learned that day at the lake! It's not that God's trying to control us or anything, but instead protect us, from things that, in the end, will harm us. But ultimately we have the choice which path to take... If we take the wrong road, it's a good thing that God's there not with an "I told you so!" sort of attitude, but instead one of a guide who will bring us back to where we should be, and comfort us when our choices backfire and tell us, "It's ok!"

I guess in the end, if we want to avoid unnesessary trials and hurt.. we need to listen to God's instructions instead of our own. He knows what He's doing, and whats best for us.