We sometimes don’t know why things happen the way they do.
I have this theory I share with my students and others I like to call “The Green Bean Theory”.
Where I’m from (the south) you grow up having dinner-on-the-grounds at church (a monthly or quarterly Sunday lunch at church where everyone brings a covered dish) or you take food to those who are sick, had a baby, lost a loved one, etc. Well, one day I was taking a meal to someone, and that meal included a pot of green beans.
I had made the mistake of turning too quickly or hitting the gas a little too fast.  When I reached my destination and went to retrieve the food from the trunk, I discovered that the towel I had rested the pot of green beans on was now covered in green bean juice and was soaking through onto the carpet. Yucky! What a mess!
Now, I either (1) make sure the pot isn’t so full, (2) have a good liner in the trunk (depending on the vehicle I drive, (3) place my liquidy food in a Mason Jar with a tight fitting lid, or (4) DRIVE CAREFULLY.  Number four is the one I still do even with all the other precautions I may take.
This leads me to “The Green Bean Theory”.  When you are behind someone who is driving too slowly or take their turns with great caution, they just may have green beans in their vehicle.
We don’t know the reason why people drive or do things the way they do, but they just may have a good reason. (Besides the typical comments I’ve always heard…”It’s a woman driver” or “They must be from the north” (no offense).)  Who knows, just because you got behind that slower-paced person in the car, they just may be saving you from getting a ticket or from being in an accident. You never know.
Like the old saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. So, “Don’t judge a car by the speed it is going.”
What made me think of this today?  Well, when I was reading in 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13, David was ready to follow his lord to battle. (Note….When you read the word lord with a lowercase “l”, it means the person in charge. When you read the word Lord with a capital “L”, it means our God.) He ended up not going and he questioned his lord why.  It ended up that David not going was probably a good thing.
You see, when he returned home, he discovered that the town was destroyed and the people were taken captive. He ended up defeating the enemy, freeing the captives, and giving generously to others.
Also, we read in chapter 31 how the army he was originally going out to battle with ended up killing Saul’s sons.  That included David’s beloved friend Jonathan. Could you imagine David’s feelings if he had been in battle with them and witnessed his dear friend killed? I believe God saved David from being involved in that situation.
Just like David questioned “Why?”, we often do too.  But…God has a plan.  We don’t know His ways and reasons why He allows things to happen. Sometimes we discover the “why” later in life, and other times we just won’t know possibly until we get to Heaven and ask Him for ourselves.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

So the next time something happens and you don’t know why, just remember “The Green Bean Theory”.  God just may be saving your from something and guiding you to slow down and take precautions.
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie

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