With the increase in summer activity, my father decided that his two-year-old grandson needed a gate to enclose the backyard deck. The deck was a favorite place to play, but it provided access to an open yard and to the street. My sister-in-law had just given birth to her third boy, and she had other things to worry about than Ben playing ball with the neighborhood cars.

On this sunny day, Grandpa arrived to build the gate. Ben, who is always thrilled to see Grandpa, was doubly delighted to see Grandpa with a toolbox. His bright eyes were fixed on Grandpa’s every move. Ben helped to bring in the lumber. He helped to open the toolbox. He helped to hand him the contents.

He was more help than Grandpa needed, but Grandpa enjoyed Ben just as much as Ben adored Grandpa. So, with mutual admiration, they did their work, taking time for tickle breaks.

Ben was thrilled to try some hammering and to touch all the nails. He was wonder-struck when Grandpa revved up the drill. Big noises, real tools, lots of attention—it was a little boy’s amusement park.

An hour later, Ben was still engaged and exuberant when Grandpa gave the gate its first swing on the new hinges. But when the gate swung shut for the first time, the light went out behind Ben’s eyes. The big grin fell. In the silence of the moment, his brow began to knit.

“This gate is to keep Benjamin safe,” Grandpa confirmed the toddler’s worst fears.

“No!” he cried. “Open door!” His face contorted and his feet danced.

What had been one of the best mornings of his little life had just turned ugly. The whole adventure had just been one mean trick. Nothing he tried—screaming, sobbing, pleading—would open the gate that Ben had helped to build.

The happy child who seemed to be so eager to help with the work of the grandfather realized that there was a plan that superseded his plan. His obedience and compliance with the will of the grandfather brought unexpected results.

How often we do that to God. We are so happy to be kingdom-building until we come up against an unpleasant roadblock. The roadblock is part of the divine plan, but we didn’t anticipate it. We are unprepared for the inconvenience, self-sacrifice, or suffering.

We cannot always be prepared for what is coming. Our Father loves us and plans for our good, but we could never understand the total plan even if He explained it. It is too grand, too complex. We have to trust Him to do the best for us and the kingdom.

Sometimes forty-year-olds have as much trouble with that trust as two­year-olds do. Trust me, I know this.