When Kris and Kell woke up the next morning in their hotel in Jamestown, Rhode Island, they wondered what adventure they would go to next. While they were eating breakfast, there was a knock on the door, and a man handed them an envelope. Inside the envelope was a note and two airplane tickets to Bismark, North Dakota! The note said, “Go to the airport, return your rental car, fly to North Dakota, rent another car, drive to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and on the way take a trip on the Enchanted Highway!”
Kris and Kell packed their things and hurried to the airport. While they were waiting for their flight to North Dakota, Kell looked up some information on her tablet. She found out that when they got to Bismark, North Dakota they would travel west on I-94 until they got to the Enchanted Highway. The National Park was a little way past the Enchanted Highway.
Kris was curious about the Enchanted Highway, and he wanted to look at the pictures on the tablet, but Kell would not let him look, she wanted him to be surprised!
When they got to the Enchanted Highway, Kris could not believe his eyes! There were huge sculptures beside the highway! Kell told him that all the sculptures were made by one man, he made them out of scrap metal!
The sculptures were huge, and it was hard to believe that one man had made all of them! Kris’ favorite sculpture was named, ‘Geese in Flight’.
Kris wanted to climb to the top of the sculpture, but Kell grabbed his arm and told him not to even try to climb the sculpture! The sculptures were works of art, not playgrounds, and besides that, Kris might fall and get hurt! Kris still wanted to try to climb the sculpture, and Kell had to grab his arm and drag him back to the car!
When they got to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Kris could not believe his eyes! There was a buffalo laying on the ground right by the park sign! Kell told Kris that the correct name for the animal was not buffalo, they should be called bison.
Kris stopped the car and jumped out, he yelled, “I am going to get close to that bison, while you take a picture of me and the bison.”
Kell yelled back at him, “Get back in the car! That is a wild animal that could easily kill you!”
Kris responded, “The bison here are probably used to people, I will not be in any danger!”
Kris started to walk toward the bison, and Kell jumped out of the car and ran up behind Kris and tackled him! Kris was not expecting this, and he fell to the ground with Kell on top of him. Kell was mad! She shoved his face into the ground and said, “I am not going to let you get up until you promise to get back in the car and forget this nonsense of trying to get close to a bison!”
Kris could hardly breathe because Kell was pushing his face into the ground, but he managed to say, “Ok, I promise I will not go close to the bison.”
Kell let Kris get up off the ground and Kris said, “You are spoiling all my fun on this trip!”
Kell snapped at Kris, “Get back in the car!” Kris reluctantly began moving toward the car, then he turned and looked back at the bison. Kell yelled, “You are not going to break your promise and go back to that bison!” She aimed a kick at Kris! Kris took the hint and ran back to the car.
Kris and Kell were mad at each other, but there was nothing to do except to continue driving through Roosevelt National Park. The scenery was incredible, and they took many pictures!
Towards the end of the day, they stopped at the park store, and the park ranger handed them an envelope. The note inside the envelope said that they had reservations in the park campground for the next two nights! Kris and Kell were still mad at each other, and they were not looking forward to spending the next two nights with each other in a small tent, but they really had no choice.
Lesson Learned about God
That night in their tent, they were both still mad at each other. Kris said, “This has been a horrible day, I do not think that we can learn anything about God today! This has been the worst misadventure ever!”
Kell answered, “I am so mad that I cannot even think. I need to get out of this tent!” She snatched up her Bible and stormed out of the tent!
I little while later Kell came back into the tent and calmly said, “Kris, I need to talk to you. I was so mad at you, I wanted to find some verses in the Bible that showed that I was right you that you were wrong! When I opened my Bible, I found myself reading I Corinthians 10:13 and it says:
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.
When I read that verse, I realized that we did learn something about God today, we learned about temptations that come to each of us, and how God helps us deal with those temptations. I remembered that there is another group of verses about temptations in the Bible in James 1:13-15, so I looked those verses up, and they say:
And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
Kris, I should not be mad at you because you struggled with temptations to do wrong today. Everyone struggles with temptations, so we should not point our fingers at someone who is struggling and get mad at them or make fun of them, because soon enough we will also be facing temptations of some kind.
Today, Kris, you were facing temptations to show off, and act brave. You wanted to climb a sculpture, and then you wanted to get close to a bison to have a picture taken. Both things were not smart and could easily have gotten you hurt or even killed! God allowed me to be there to stop you both times! I was chosen by God to be ‘the way out’ of the temptations, to keep you safe. I am not mad anymore! I am so glad that God does not abandon us when we are about to give into a temptation and do something stupid! God always provides a way to escape from the temptation, today I was your way of escape, even though I embarrassed you and got you mad.”
Kris thought about this for a few minutes and read the verses from the Bible again. Then Kris said, “Thank you, Kell for being there for me today! I was trying to show off today, and now I realize that if you had not been there today, I might have been killed because I gave in to those temptations to show off. Thank you for being my ‘way of escape’ from those temptations. Let’s get a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow we will have a great adventure in this wonderful national park, without giving in to temptations!
Report to the grandmother:
- At the travel agency – God has a good plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11
- Florida – God is watching over us, we do not need to be fearful. Psalms 23
- Wisconsin – Temptations. I Corinthians 10:13, Proverbs 14:12, I John 1:9
- Minnesota – Never take your eyes off Jesus. Matthew 14:22-33
- Kentucky – God’s Word (the Bible) is the truth! John 17:17
- Louisianna – Choose Heaven and the Tree of Life. Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 21:27 thru 22:5
- Illinois – God is in control. Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28-30, Proverbs 16:9
- New Mexico – God is our place of safety. Psalms 46:1-3, Psalms 91:1-2, Psalms 18:1-2, John 14:1-3
- Alabama – Training for heaven. I Peter 1:18-21, I John 3:2-3, Ephesians 5:1-2, I Peter 2:21, II Timothy 4:6-8
- Georgia – Sin erodes a person’s life and brings death. Galatians 5:19-21, Romans 3:22-25a
- Texas – Jesus offers abundant life. John 10:10, Mark 12:29-31.
- Kansas – Humans are filled with hatred and evil. Genesis 8:21-22, Romans 3:21-25a.
- South Carolina – Reminder of the Crucifixion. Isaiah 53:3-9
- Arkansas – Jesus is Crowned with Glory and Honor. Hebrews 2:9-10, Revelation 19:16, John 11:25-26
- Idaho – Times of Refreshing. Acts 3:19-20a, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 40:28-31
- Washington State – Obeying God is Important! James 1:22-25, James 4:17
- Oregon – Do not let your first love for Jesus erode. Revelation 2:4-5a, Psalms 51:10-12
- Ohio – We are secure in God’s hands. Isaiah 41:13, Psalms 139:9-10, Psalms 73:23-28.
- Iowa – God is in control: Past, Present, & Future. Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 4:8.
- South Dakota – Believers are the family of God. Ephesians 2:19-21, John 1:12-13, Ephesians 1:5, I Thessalonians 5:15-18.
- Indiana – Win the Race! I Corinthians 9:24-27, Matthew 25:21
- Michigan – Cost of following Jesus. Luke 14:27-33.
- Missouri – The Book of Life. Revelation 20:11-15.
- New Jersey – The Light of the World. Philippians 2:14-15, Matthew 5:14-16.
- New York – God will meet our needs. Philippians 4:19-20.
- Pennsylvania – A special place and rest in heaven. John 14:1-3, Hebrews 4:9-10
- Montana – Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. John 15:5
- Alaska – Jesus is the light of the world. John 1:4-5, John 8:12, Revelation 21:23-27, Revelation 22:5
- Maine – God’s Holy Spirit is like the wind: invisible, powerful and always working! John 3:8, Acts 1:8, John 14:26, Romans 8:26-27
- Massachusetts – God is preparing a special place for each believer. John 14:1-3.
- Maryland/Virginia – Perfect love overcomes fear. I John 4:17-19.
- Washington DC – Communion. I Corinthians 11:23-26.
- Virginia/West Virginia – Baptism. Romans 6:3-5, Colossians 2:12-15.
- Delaware – Jesus is returning. John 14:2-3, I Thessalonians 4:16-18, I Corinthians 15:51-53
- Rhode Island – Believers are like a lighthouse. Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:14-15.
- North Dakota – Dealing with temptations. I Corinthians 10:13, James 1:13-15.