When my husband and I were engaged, I moved back into my mom’s home to save some money while I was working and going to school.
One night my mom and I were sitting on my bed visiting. As we were talking, we heard a ting coming from outside. It sounded like something hitting the window. Suddenly my mom hit the floor and the next thing I knew she was on her elbows and knees as she crawled down the hall. She began to ‘whisper-yell’ my stepdad’s name. My stepdad ran out of the house, found my fiancé by his car in the driveway. My stepdad grabbed my fiancé by the shoulders, physically moved him out of his way and told my fiancé the crazy kid down the street was shooting his BB gun at the house. My stepdad then determinedly walked down the street to find the ‘shooter’. My now husband sheepishly came in the open back door and found me very confused in the hall. I wasn’t sure where my mom was, why she had crawled out of my room, or where my stepdad was. I asked my soon-to-be husband if he had any idea of what was going on. He explained that my stepdad was searching for a juvenile delinquent who had shot at our house, while my mom was on standby to call 911. My fiancé then told me he had a confession to make. He had come to the house later than usual, so he wanted to do something ‘romantic’. He found a few pebbles in the street and tossed them on the at the window frame to try and get my attention. When I didn’t respond, he began tossing pebbles at the window. When I still didn’t come to the window, he went back to his car, while he contemplated his next move… that’s when my stepdad came out of the house. As my fiancé was filling in the details he knew, and the few things I knew, we figured out that the juvenile delinquent actually never had used my window for target practice… it was actually my soon to be husband trying to be romantic.
How many times do we try to do or say something, but others interpret your words or actions completely different from what you had intended? My mom was sure the kid down the street was attacking the house. My stepdad was convinced that he needed to defend his home. My fiancé thought I was ignoring him. All these interpretations were wrong. A Proverb came to mind, one that reminded me that we can’t do things on our own.
“Trust in the Lord completely,
and do not rely on your own opinions.
With all your heart rely on him to guide you,
and he will lead you in every decision you make.”
Proverbs 3:5
