Thankful Thursday: Driving Miss Daisy

"But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love." Psalm 33:18

Driving Miss Daisy (what I affectionately call my Aunt) isn't always pleasant. She's stubborn and selfish, ornery and opinionated, just like Jessica Tandy's character in the 1989 movie by the same name. Driving Miss Daisy to her doctors appointments and to Walmart for her monthly shopping tries my patience every time.

I temper my conversation after Morgan Freeman's character, (the driver), by keeping my mouth shut and agreeing with a "Yes Ma'am" and "Mm mm hm mm." Besides, speaking my mind only gets me into trouble and proves a waste of time because she doesn't listen anyway.

But yesterday, on her 4 month orthopaedic follow up visit, we got to talking about things broken - how hurt and pain come with the wound and how sometimes we're responsible for it all. We agreed that if we listen - do what we ought rather than what we want - the wound never appears and we remain whole.

We traced the lines that spelled truth right there in the negatives hanging in the light. The lines that bore witness to her brokenness and pain. The lines that spoke of all the hard-lesson days full of regret and caused her knees to bend, buckle, fall to the floor beside her bed. Frustrating days followed, impatiently hemmed in prayer and hung on hope - hope for healing of the wound, restored wholeness and independence. Hope prevailed even when all the doctor ever promised was deformity at best, even when I doubted.

But, she wrapped her wound up tight in hope and presented it to the Healer and let him do his work - the One who knows all about hurt and pain, wounds and scars and lines that speak of brokenness. He bore all those things so he gets it and he takes it. It's amazing to watch him work - to transform all the broken things that misshape and handicap our form - and rattle the mind of a doctor who shakes his head, amazed by the lines that tell the truth.

And the truth is this: God is always the God of hope who takes our brokenness and transforms it into something whole - whether now or later - His restoration always comes.

And, (I hate to admit this), Miss Daisy was right. Her stubborn hope realigned my faith.

So, on this Thankful Thursday, I'm grateful for a fresh hope. A hope that knows God's love reaches down, transforms our brokenness, restores wholeness even in stubborn hearts. God's love never fails.