This story from my family’s the first Europe vacation actually starts before we even left Canada, and it could be argued that this part could have been included in Part 2 of this series, Of Plates and Blue Jeans, for it was indeed something that wouldn’t have happened if I had stopped expecting Europe to be the same way it had been 20 years earlier when I had lived there. This particular story, however, stands out to me so vividly, as do the lessons I learned from it, that I feel it warrants its own devotional pair…

The story began about three weeks prior to our scheduled departure. Our youngest son, Darien, was gone to a fly-in native community in the northern part of our Canadian province on a missions trip, and he arrived back home just two days before our scheduled departure for Europe. I, for one, was stressing about last minute preparations for our vacation, but when I looked up and saw my son coming in the door with his mom, I think I had a miniature heart attack. Darien had cut his hair! He had—a mohawk!!!

Of course, various versions of the mohawk have become the style in more later years; however, in that day and age, the haircut was for people who wanted to stand out as rebellious, and this is what I immediately accused him of: blatant rebellion! He knew we were leaving for Europe to see his grandmother. He knew I wanted him to have his best foot forward. How could he have sunk so low as to get a mohawk? I instantly regretted allowing him to go on the missions trip in the first place.

I could go on, but we’ll just say I was angry, and you can let your imaginations fill in the gaps. All I will say further about my reaction was that my wife shaved off mohawk the following day.

Fast forward a few days, and we found ourselves with my mom in the nursing home where she resided. She suffered from moderately-severe dementia, and there was little she could talk about. I began showing her pictures from my new digital camera. I had forgotten that my wife had snapped a picture of Darien with his mohawk before she shaved it off, and I was shocked to see that awful hairstyle on the head of my precious son come up on the camera screen. What shocked me even more, however, was that my mom started to smile. She pointed to the picture, she pointed to Darien, and then the most precious thing happened: She started to laugh. Every day after that, she would point to Darien and to my camera. Her intent was clear: She wanted to see the picture of him with his mohawk!

God promises us something even better than my son’s “rebellion” turning into a joy for my mother. God promises to bring good out of all bad situations! We are very familiar with the words of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV). In my case, God took what was extremely bad in my eyes and turned it into a source of joy for my ailing mother.

I am also reminded of a less-well known verse: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV).

And just what are these “light” and “momentary” troubles? Paul describes them a few verses earlier as being “hard pressed on every side” and “perplexed” (Vs. 8), “persecuted” and “struck down” (Vs. 9), carrying around in their bodies the “death of Jesus” (vs. 10) and stating “death is at work in us” (Vs. 11). Okay that all sounds a bit worse than my son coming home with a mohawk! Yet Paul can also say, he is, “not crushed” and “not in despair” (Vs. 8); “not abandoned” and “Not destroyed” (Vs. 9); “so that Christ may be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ” (vs. 10-11). And these outcomes are far better even than the bit of joy my son’s mohawk brought to his grandmother!

What is it that has you upset today, friends? Why not ask God to show you how He will use it to His glory? And if you commit to that prayer a little earlier in the game than I did, then perhaps you won’t be robbed of so much joy!

There is just one other lesson this fateful trip and that awful mohawk had to teach me … Please join us next week for the final part to this series!

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Founder, Answers2Prayer ministries

(To access the entire “Europe Here We Come” devotional series, please click here!)