A few years ago, when my daughter was around three, we decided to load up the family RV and take it on a journey across the country. We were living in Arizona at the time, and we wanted to go visit my husband’s family in Illinois but also stop at several places along the way to fully embrace the notion of the “Great American Roadtrip.”

So we packed two adults, two kids, and a grumpy old wiener dog into the camper and took off on a week-long adventure. We stopped in New Mexico to see family and old friends, camped out in Amarillo so we could visit the famous “Big Texan” steakhouse (where we did not, I might add, attempt the 72 oz. challenge), spent a night in Oklahoma so my kids could get their first taste of the prairie, another in Missouri (so my kids could get their first taste of humidity 😂) before finally arriving in Illinois.

As we pulled into my in-laws drive-way, my daughter, from the backseat, pipes up and says, “Oh! I didn’t know we were going to Grandma and Grandpa’s!”

Umm…what?

This sweet little toddler had just been passenger on a week-long roadtrip with no idea to the final destination.

And, still, she’d been happy as a clam, never complaining about the long hours on the road, the unexpected detours, the stops, or the seemingly random “sideshow” attractions. She’d just been enjoying the ride.

How was this even possible?

The destination didn’t matter to my daughter because she was completely fine being a “passenger princess.” She was with the ones she loved. And she had absolute trust in the driver. She knew we, as her parents, would protect her, no matter where she was. She knew we love her and would not be taking her somewhere awful. She understood that each of the stops, as well as the twists and turns, were not unexpected to us, that we could handle it, that we had a plan.

Is it any wonder Jesus wants us all to become like children, to have faith like their’s, and why He says “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”? (Mark 10:13-16)

How would it be if we all lived a little bit more like my daughter? On this road trip of life, where we never truly know where we’re going to end up (at least while still in our fleshly tents), but still enjoy the ride anyway because we know the driver. We know Him, and we trust Him. And, because we trust Him, we can know that all these seemingly random pit stops and detours along the way have a purpose. And that, wherever He’s leading us, it’s somewhere good because HE is good.

How much more enjoyable would life be if we were content to be “passenger princesses” rather than drivers?

So, please, if you’re planning a road trip this summer, by all means use Google maps and let your passengers know where you’re going. But, on the road of life, let’s let God take the wheel….and trust we’ll end up where He wants us to go.