God is working all things together for our good. Sometimes that's hard to believe. Disappointment comes; it's hard to understand. Even in the little things; the small let downs do add up, don't they? But there are times God uses our disappointments to show us that He is in the failing of our plans.

I was recently in England, and one of the sites that was on my list of things to see was Stonehenge. I don't know why, I just wanted to see it. Maybe it's the historical significance and mystery behind these arranged stones. So, my wife and I headed out for the ancient monument. We were told that it closed at 5:00, it was 3:30 or so and we were about 45 minutes away. We had plenty of time. That would leave us a good amount of time to soak in this recognizable English icon.


We arrived a little after four and drove up to the visitor's center entrance. It was still open. Oh joy. Only one problem, and here's where the disappointment struck, they stop selling tickets at 3:00. My heart sank. I was so looking forward to this. What to do now?

My wife and I decided we would continue on the road. I had hoped now that I might be able to at least see Stonehenge from the road. And we did. But it was small, far away. Disappointment remained. I'm grateful for google maps. After driving around in traffic, we found a road that appeared to head to Stonehenge. After a few misses, we turned down the road and headed in hope towards our destination. At this point, we wouldn't be turned away. We couldn't be turned away.

The road turned into a dirt road which turned into a bumpy road hazard. We pressed on, past the Stonehenge hippies and over the deep ditches. And then we saw it, rising on our left, our goal stood and made excitement rise up in us. Could it be? We were going to see Stonehenge (which had at this point become more than just a box to check). We parked outside of the fenced in area and approached the security guard who was letting the last bus from the tourist center exit and head back. 

He said that while we could not enter where the bus had been, there was a public access path that we could use. And we were on our way. What a site. It was amazing and it thrilled us. The previous disappointment drifted away. There was Stonehenge, sitting in the foreground of a setting sun. We couldn't have planned it any better. 

Later, after many photos, I began to think. What would have happened if we had made it in time to go on the bus? We would have never seen such a beautiful sunset outlining such an iconic monument. We would have missed out on the better that God had for us. He had worked this out for our good. We had our plans, but God had something better in mind. And so it is as we wait for His plans to come pass. A simple lesson, deeply ingrained. Isn't God good?




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