Trust and Believe

2/7/16

"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

There once was a girl who, like the fairy tale girl, had a curl down the middle of her forehead, and, like that girl, when she was good she was very, very good…BUT when she was upset she was horrid depressed. Her name was Jubilante Dismayah. I was the new kid on the block, and I had not met Jubilante yet. Here are some of the things I found out before I met her.

When the sun was shining on her, she was light itself. Her friend, Harmony, told me, “There is not anything JD will not do for a friend, animal or even enemy.” Another friend, Innocentsia, affirmed this and added to what Harmony said, “I always love to play with her. If we go for ice cream or to a movie, and if I tell her I do not have any money, she always tells me that she wants me to be her guest. She is like that all the time and to everyone.”

Another friend of Jubilante, Maddy, decided to put her two cents in. “You guys are only painting half of the story here. Remember that time JD cried about the toe that she stubbed two times in three days. We heard ‘oh my toe is killing me’ and all kinds of whining. Still she refused to go to the doctor because she knew that they do not do much for broken toes. Her mother finally gave up, because she did not want to deal with her tantrums. She is always doing stuff like that, and it is kind of a downer.” Maddy made a harrumph sound and stomped off down the street.

Innocentsia shook her head and told me, “Well, isn’t that just like Maddy? That is like the pot calling the kettle murky.” Harmony laughed and said, “Well I love JD, but her name says it all, Jubilante Dismayah. It is as if her name tells the story about how she has two reverse sides to her personality.

I needed to go home. My mother, sisters, and I always did a little Bible Study after mom had finished making dinner and before Daddy got home.  So I said good bye to Harmony and Innocentsia and skipped off. As I skipped I whispered a prayer for Jubilante Dismayah. I asked God to bless her and help her to understand that He is always there even during her troubles. Then I added, “Oh, Dear Father, please cure JD’s unbroken toe that is still is hurting. Amen.

A few days later I met JD and we became friends. I found that she was all the good things I had heard. I thought Maddy must have been mistaken about dark side. Then I began to see a different side of “JD”

I cannot stand how my toe is hurting me,” JD was crying. “What did I do to deserve this? I can hardly stand wearing a shoe. I have iced it; I have put under a hot pad. Nothing helps.” She balled her hands into fists. We could not argue with her, because we were afraid JD would punch one of us. Then JD wailed, “It hurts and I cannot let my mother see it. It is hot and red, and she will force me to go to the Doctor!”

We all looked at each other, and the questions in all our eyes showed how bad we felt about it. Still, we just kept quiet about what we were thinking.

A few days later she was riding her bike and hit a rock. JD was unhurt, but the bicycle was toast when it was hit by a car after she fell off and it careened into the street. The wheels were all bent and spokes broken. The frame was twisted very badly.

Her mother said, “Jubilante, you must have been very callous to have something like this happen. We will not be able to buy you a new bike. At least you were not killed by the car.” Her father told her, “You are lucky to be alive. I will take it to the bicycle shop and find out if it is fixable.

Then Dad decided to try to fix it himself. He told JD that she was going to camp, and that was a big expense. However, her dad told her, “I can try to fix your bike, but I will not buy a new one.” JD reluctantly said she would have to live with the repaired one. 

When it was summer, JD and a couple of us went off to Bible Camp for a week. While at the camp the counselors found out about the toe and made her go to see the camp nurse. The nurse examined her toe and saw that it was infected. JD had a splinter in it. She screamed her head off while it was removed even though it had been numbed with an anesthetic ointment. With the splinter removed and antibiotic cream on it, the swelling went down, and she was good as new in a day.

She told every single camper there things like…

“I have been so sad for over a week before I came here. I prayed and prayed, but nothing happened.”
“I was sure that God had forgotten me or was punishing me.”
“I felt so unloved. I just could not be happy.”

The other thing that she bellyached to everyone about was the broken bike. “How could this have happened?” she would moan. I am trying to be brave about my broken bicycle. I liked it so much, and I just loved riding it.” JD told me that she is trying to trust God. “I was trying to be brave and not to ask for a new one.  I told God that I know he has a plan for me, and I believe that in the end things will be better.

Still she was complaining and griping constantly to any of the other campers she could corner. It got so bad the kids would try not to be caught and made to listen to her whining. They moved away when they saw JD coming towards them. Then she finally realized that she was being a Debby Downer, and she realized that God had come through in the past. She started to believe that He did have a plan. Surprisingly she stopped her constant complaining. For the last three days she had fun and showed everyone her lovable side.

Camp was over, and she cried about leaving. She packed up her duffle and dragged it and herself to the school bus that would take us home. She cried so pathetically and long that you could hear her hiccupping for the whole trip.

The next day we saw JD in the park. She had red eyes and a sad look on her face. Maddy asked her, “What is wrong now, JD?”  “When I unpacked my duffle my retainer was not there. Mom and Daddy called the camp but they looked and called back to tell us it was nowhere to be found. I am in big trouble because it will cost $350 to get a new retainer.” She was inconsolable. She still told us that she was sure God still has a plan. She said, “I just need to trust Him that He will help. It is just that there have been too many things, and it is taking so long! No retainer…no bicycle. Sheesh!” A big tear rolled down her cheek.

We were all surprised at the different turn her thoughts had taken. Harmony said, “I never heard JD show any understanding that God was in control and had good plans for her.” It seemed like quite a miracle.

A couple of weeks later the second and third miracles happened. JD and all of us saw that it is true that God does have plans and that often make things even better than they had been.

When JD’s parents called the orthodontist about the lost retainer, he had a surprise for them. He said, “I have been meaning to call you for a couple of weeks now about JD’s retainer. She is due for a larger one. Our policy for children who grow out of their retainers before their treatment is complete is to provide a second one for $25.”

A few days later JD got a letter from radio KKid. There had been a coloring contest in the spring and the winners had just been chosen. They asked to speak to Jubilante Dismayah Dunn. When JD got on the phone, her parents saw her open her mouth very wide. To their surprise she started laughing and screaming and jumping up and down. Then she said, “Good bye and thank you very much!” “Daddy! Mommy! Remember that coloring contest I entered in April? Well, they just told me that I won first prize! The prize is a purple bicycle with hand brakes and speed gears. An eighteen speed! They said that the delivery van will ring the bell any minute!”

Suddenly the doorbell rang. JD looked at her mom and dad and said, “God did have a plan for me.” Then she ran outside to see her new bike.

That night as she lay in bed saying her prayers with her mother she prayed, “I was sad about toes, a retainer and a ruined bike, but you had a plan. Thank you for God for your blessings. I wanted to trust You, but I was not very good at it. Please help me to always remember this when I feel like complaining and giving up.”

The next time I saw JD she told me about what had happened and what she had learned. Then she said “I don’t want to be called JD any more. From now on I want to be called by my name, Jubilante. That expresses who I am now”. Later in the day I was thrilled when Jubilante got off of her brand new bike and let me take it for a short spin down the block.

That night I asked God to help me to remember what He did for Jubilante. I asked Him to help me trust and believe when I faced trials.

God IS good.

Written by

Corinne Mustafa (c)