THANK GOD FOR INSTRUCTIONS!!

     I will never forget my daughter Kaylee's American Girl Tepee. She received it as a gift and I can't remember if it was for Christmas or for her Birthday. I just remember doing a lot of sweating! Why? This tepee was huge and looked very complicated to put together. Kaylee LOVED her American girl dolls. She was so excited when she received her tepee gift. What did it mean for me? I was the guy who had to put it together. Of course, I was happy to do it. She's my daughter and I love her. What I did not know is how challenging it would be to put the tepee together.

     I remember taking the huge box the tepee came in and putting it on my Dining room table. There were so many poles that came with it and a lot of material for the actual tepee. Of course, it came with instructions. Many people say men in particular never look at instructions. It is very true that we won't ask for driving instructions (although I do confess I have asked on rare occasions). I knew however that I had to read the instructions on how to put this tepee together. Normally, I always loved looking at the picture on the box and then I would try to figure out how it went together. Especially if I put together a computer desk or stereo cabinet. Not with this tepee. No way, Jose!

     In all honesty, the directions for his tepee were not very clear. The diagram was very hard to understand. I took a deep breath and then started. Every five minutes, my daughter wanted to know if it was finished. I would look at her with her big eyes and tell her I was working on it. After a while, with sweat literally filling my forehead, I told Kaylee when it was done I would call her. It took me almost one hour to set up the tepee. The directions, as I said, were not very clear and even how the poles for the tepee were labeled, it made no sense. Even trying to get the material over the poles was challenging. After a lot of effort I was able to complete the task. Trust me! There were many times I wanted to throw that tepee in the trash. But I knew it meant the world to my daughter. Thank God for instructions!!

     I enjoy reading the Bible. For me, it's God's instruction manual for life. However, there are times where I have questions about situations and the answers are not clear. That's when I need to dig deeper and try to figure out what God is saying to me. Sometimes it may not be clear or the answer might be "Hey Dave, you need to wait." But of course I always remind myself that God's instruction manual is far better than my instruction manual (that's when I decide what is best for me which is a huge joke). I appreciate every day God's instruction manual, the bible. I am so glad God gives us instruction and direction. It is never ever in our timing, but He always comes through for us. Just like it took me quite a while to put together the tepee, God's timing is the best!     

UNTIL NEXT TIME FRIENDS!!