Granted, there are a lot of rabbits in the Midwest.  But we saw one almost everywhere we went on our recent vacation!

I didn’t think much about it at the time because … well, there are a lot of rabbits in the Midwest.  However, as I think about it now, I see a subtle, simple message from the Lord.  Perhaps I’m making too much of this, but I find a comforting truth wrapped up in it nonetheless.

Wherever we went there were cottontails … just as wherever we went there was God. 

At my father and mother-in-law’s place – a cottontail.  At my parents’ place – a cottontail.  At my son and daughter-in-law’s place – a cottontail.  While with my other son – a cottontail.  Here a cottontail, there a cottontail, everywhere a cottontail!

And, yes, as stated earlier, there are a lot of rabbits in the Midwest.  But even so, this seemed a bit over the top.  The bunnies kept appearing, and sometimes in the most unlikely places!

I don’t know if this was a special message from the Lord.  Perhaps that’s a stretch.  But I do know that the concept is true; wherever we were and wherever we were going, God was there.  Just like the rabbits, God was always a hop ahead of us.

When planning the vacation, the Lord provided extremely reasonable plane tickets for us, and even a rental vehicle for the three-week trip, which were/are in extremely high demand.

When the entire vacation was questionable due to my wife’s and my unfortunate injuries prior to the trip, the Lord made a way for us to go, and sustained us both throughout our travels. 

When I nearly didn’t make it to our gate at SeaTac because of my weak legs, the Lord supported me down the final stretch.  And then he graciously provided a wheelchair when we arrived in huge O’Hare Airport in Chicago.

When my sister and her family had to suddenly find a new home just before we arrived, and our son and his family had to do the same, (both situations putting our time together at risk), the Lord guided both families to new homes in a remarkable and timely fashion.

When other sisters were traveling great distances to be with us, at fairly significant inconvenience to themselves and their families, the Lord blessed their travels and made it happen.

When a day for both sets of great-grandparents to travel to see their great-grandchildren was set, the Lord blessed us with lovely weather.  The next day wasn’t nearly as pleasant.

When the semi driver didn’t see us and pulled his rig over, threatening to side-swipe us, the Lord was there, keeping us from a serious accident.  (As he was with all the other near incidents during our many miles of driving.) 

When I aggravated an injury to the point of being questionable to preach the next morning, the Lord was there with miraculous healing.  (Truly, it was a miracle!)

When a nasty bug swept through some of the family while we were all together, the Lord sustained us and brought everyone through it in a few days. 

When we had limited time to visit friends on our last Saturday away, the Lord positioned my former associate pastor’s home and my former Seminary roommate’s home literally blocks away in the same town, making our day extremely efficient and convenient.  (We had no idea this was the case when we made arrangements to visit them.)

When we hadn’t seen some family members for many years, the Lord streamlined the details to enable us to see both sets of parents, all of our siblings and many of their spouses, a number of our nephews and nieces, and even some cousins!  Furthermore, the Lord enabled us to have all of our immediate family together, including our three grandsons, for a number of days.  What a blessing!

This list could go on and on.  The point is, almost everywhere we went we saw another bunny, and we witnessed God’s loving protection and provision.  Remarkable!  The Lord was always a hop or two ahead of us.  As he always is!

In Isaiah, the Lord promised his captive people that he would deliver them and go before them. “… The LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard” (Isaiah 52:12).  What a blessed assurance this promise must have been to the believing Jews in light of all the uncertainty before them.

David was inspired to write about this same concept with these beautiful words about the Lord: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10).

God is always with us.  That doesn’t mean that everything will go smoothly or as we desire, but it does mean that we will never have to go through anything alone.  What a wonderfully comforting truth!

So the next time you see a rabbit, I hope it reminds you (and comforts you!) that the Lord is always a hop ahead of you!