For those of you who read my blog to get a good laugh for the day, today is not that day. But I wanted to share my insight with all of you out there before it gets lost in the fog of my mommy-brain. Or in the couch cushions.
We are fortunate enough to live very close to Madelynn's school, so we make every effort to walk to school in the morning. I'm also super-fortunate to live next door to another awesome Mommy that's become a close friend and we share drop-off, pick-up duties. So, I find myself walking to school with an 8 year old, 7 year old, 5 year old and two 2 year olds. The big kids have learned the rules of where to stop in order to cross the one street, and they often run ahead. So the little kids have figured out that being buckled in the wagon is pretty restrictive and there is freedom to be had! ONE TIME I let them walk, and it's been awful trying to get them back in that wagon ever since.
So the little kids are walking. And they don't quite know the rules. And they're clumsy. So I hold their hands. And this is to keep them safe, but they don't always understand or like this.
And so it hit me.
What a parallel this is between the relationship we have with our children and the relationship God has with us.
Think about it. God holds our hands to keep us safe. Most of the time, we're just cruising along. Maybe even thinking we got this under control. But what about when we want to go "explore" and we're denied? We chafe under not being able to do what we want, but the simple truth of it, is that we can't see the big picture and don't understand that God is simply keeping us out of the street where the I'm-late-for-school-so-I-must-drive-faster people are.
But it's not just the guiding that we can compare. What about inevitable moment that a clumsy little foot catches on the sidewalk. Your Mommy hand tightens and goes up, thereby saving a scraped knee and tears. God does that too. When we're walking hand in hand with him, he's there to protect us from scrapes in life when they come along. But if we've let go, thinking we can handle things on our own, that fall can be painful and scarring.
So, rather than throwing a fit about having to hold hands or trying to wriggle free at every opportunity (squirrel!), lets approach our walk with God with the innocence of a 2 year old. Enjoy the world around you and trust in His strength to keep you safe and secure in life.
