Where Else Would I Go?

I came across something in an antique store the other day that brought a smile to my face.  There, tucked away in a corner, was a boxy red, white, and blue American flag- emblazoned suitcase straight out of the 70's.  I had one just like it when I was a little girl.   I loved (seems like a strong word for an inanimate object but it's true) that suitcase .  As a child, our family  never took many trips, so I can't even remember officially using it.  To this day I can still remember where it sat in my room.  I never put it in a closet or under my bed.  It sat out for all to see. 
I do recall using that retro "blast from the past" piece of luggage one time though.  It wasn't packed for a vacation, a summer camp, or a stay at Grandma's or anything of the sort.  This time it was packed because I was running away from home.  Yep, I was ticked, fed up with my 1970's life, and ready to hit the road.   I can still remember throwing some clothes and my Mrs. Beasley doll in my suitcase and taking off walking down our dirt road. I must have looked quite the sight with my Shirley Partridge shag haircut and bellbottom pants stomping off in the direction of the highway. I'm sure I was belly-aching the whole way, complaining about how life wasn't fair and that I'd be better off if I lived somewhere else (you know-the grass is always greener mentality). 
I didn't get very far when it dawned on me that I really had no other place to go.  I had no one that could take care of me quite the way my parents could.  No one that would feed me and to keep me safe.  No one that would watch over me when I was scared.  No one that would help me make acceptable choices.  No one that would steer me in the right direction.  My parents did all of these things and I realized that I'd be lost without them.
As you probably already figured out, I turned around and walked right back home that day.  I knew I couldn't make it on my own and I really didn't, deep down inside, want to try it anyway.
I'd like to say that I've come a long way since those "running away" days, but there are still times when I want to pack my bags and escape.  Times, when I've asked Him for relief from an annoying situation and He doesn't give it to me because He's growing my character.  Times when I've prayed for someone who is sick and He doesn't heal them because His ways and His understanding are higher than mine. Times when I've prayed about the peer pressure my oldest sons are going through and he doesn't answer me immediately because His timing is perfect and mine is not.
Each seemingly unanswered prayer doesn't really make me want to pack my bags and hit the road.  Where would I go?  I've been through life without Him and, let me tell you, it stinks.  I lived a defeated life, an "insecure about who I was" life, and a life with no purpose for way too long, and it got me nowhere.  
Once I met Him, I was forever changed.  I realized that no one can take care of me like He can. No one can feed me (He is the Bread of Life) and keep me safe like He can. No one can watch over me when I'm scared like He can. No one can help me make acceptable choices or steer me in the right direction like He can.  He does all of these things plus millions more and I would be lost without Him. 

Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, "Are you gong to leave me, too?"  Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know You are the Holy One of God." John 6:67-69 (NLT)