The Proposal We Never Saw

My girls and I like to visit Itasca State Park every summer. So last week, when some friends from our campground invited us to tag along, we said yes!

The day started off overcast and drizzling. We went to the visitor center to hide out until the rain let up and then completed a short hike. By the time we made it to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, the drizzle had stopped and the skies were beginning to clear.

But the most exciting part of our trip wasn’t the hike.

At the edge of the rocks was a man and woman with a blanket, two pillows, two drinks, two fancy glasses, flowers, and a phone. They kept arranging and rearranging everything, taking pictures, making phone calls, and moving the pillows more times than we could count. It quickly became our own little soap opera.

We decided someone was about to propose, and we needed the details. So, we sent in our scouts—our kids. I mean, who wouldn’t tell a few curious kids what was going on?

They cautiously walked over, stood about 20 feet away, and slowly inched closer. Finally, the brave one asked what they were doing. The man ignored her. She asked again. This time he gave a very vague answer, saying he didn’t really know and that it was for his son. That was all the confirmation we needed. Now we were on the lookout for a nervous-looking young man and a girl with freshly done nails.

We waited. And waited. Eventually, it was time to move on.

As we walked back to the car, we spotted a young couple with a very clean-looking Dalmatian. The young woman had beautiful nails. We were convinced they had to be the couple. We were tempted to run back to the rocks to see if our theory was right, but we had places to go. I have no idea if there was ever a proposal.

It’s funny how much we wanted to know the ending of a story that wasn’t ours.

I do the same thing with God. I want to know what’s coming next. I look for clues, ask questions, and try to figure out or control how everything is going to turn out. I want God to tell me the ending before I've even lived the moment.

Deuteronomy 29:29

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us…

Some things aren’t ours to know.

God doesn’t tell us everything, and that’s okay. He shows us what we need to know when we need to know it. The rest belongs to Him.

I’ll probably never know whether there was a proposal at Itasca that afternoon. But that little mystery me to remember that I don’t have to know every detail of my own story either. I can trust the Author who already knows the ending.

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Make Monday Matter is my weekly Christian devotional where I share reflections on faith, running, and the small ways God shows up in everyday life.