“‘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 a hope and a future.’”
— Jeremiah 29:11
It’s not often that I put a plan together that works. Normally, anything I come up with will almost certainly go awry, and that’s certainly how one of my latest schemes began. Amazingly, shortly after this idea of mine began to unravel, it turned 180 degrees and became one of the best things I’ve ever done. So, as a believer, I feel like that the Almighty had His hand in this – even if it was a Rolling Stones concert.
I still maintain that it was a good idea. The minute Stones concert tickets went on sale last year, I bought two pairs for the Atlanta show – one for us and another couple. Then greed took over my soul and I decided to speculate and buy four more tickets to sell at a ridiculous profit. If I played my cards right, I might have made enough money to buy a Maserati, or even a shopping basket full of groceries.
The long and the short of it is, it didn’t work. Unbelievably, I never found a buyer. So with time winding down, I did what I should’ve done all along. I offered the tickets to my boys.
To my surprise, all of them said yes. My youngest son even offered to drive. And that is how a family went to Atlanta to see the Rolling Stones. A friend snapped a photograph that proved it truly happened, but it was the next day when the significance of it hit me. The picture looked like a happy family, each face showing genuine joy, and dare I say it, peace? I never dreamed I would see a photo like this. In fact, I never dreamed that some of my boys would even speak to one another because of events in our past.
My oldest son has struggled with addiction and the problems associated with it. For 15 years, he was sucked into a drug-induced vortex that took a terrible toll on our entire family. Fights, anger, lying, stealing, finger-pointing, blaming, and of course, denial. Eventually, he was shot at point-blank range and survived the wound, only to end up serving seven years in a maximum level federal prison. These kind of things usually leave deep scars that can last a lifetime.
And they did. His brothers resented him because he got all the attention and resources poured into fixing him, which didn’t work. They tired of him receiving countless last chances. As parents, we had differing opinions on how to handle the situation. Seeing this, our son expertly played one side against the other. This created bitter arguments that caused anger and a lack of forgiveness, deep fissures from which many families never emerge.
But by the grace of a loving God and a church family, we crawled out of the abyss, albeit bloody and scarred.
The seven years my son spent in prison were probably good for everyone. While he was incarcerated, he grew up and decided this is not the way he wanted to live his life. His brothers not only saw the changes in him, but the price he paid when they visited him at the penitentiary. As parents, we managed to work through the entire situation as best we could, sleepless nights and all.
Fast forward to the present day. Everyone in the family has made strides. All three of my boys have good jobs. My wife and I began participating in Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered 12-step program. While there are still struggles and scars, we’re doing OK, especially when you consider where we came from.
That leads us to a car full of family and friends, all music fans, driving to Atlanta to see the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band. I couldn’t help but notice how pleasant the whole experience was. Everyone was laughing and telling stories. Two of my boys had never seen the Stones, so there was an undercurrent of excitement that filled the car. My prodigal son is a serious connoisseur of classic rock and roll, making this concert a pilgrimage for him.
After a relatively smooth parking and stadium entrance, we made it inside. Nothing to do but wait, or do what the boys did, which is shop for gloriously overpriced T-shirts.
After a solid opening act, the stadium became electric as anticipation built. Finally, at long last, a voice boomed through the sound system, “Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones!”
Keith Richards hit the first notes of “Start Me Up” as Mick Jagger, the 80-year old wonder, literally skipped on stage. I got goosebumps. At that point I yelled to my wife, “Worth every penny!” And it was.
After the concert, my youngest son presented me with a Stones T-shirt he bought for me earlier. It was his way of thanking us for the ticket. I was surprised and touched by the gesture.
I couldn’t have planned this evening any better. And that’s because I really didn’t plan it. Looking at the photo the next day, I knew the Ultimate Trip Planner was in charge.
Don’t forget, God can show up anywhere, even at a Rolling Stones concert.ν
