There were lions, tigers, horses, princesses, flowers, ninjas, pirates, clowns and even a little brown feathery thing…all lined up, waiting for their turn at the front. When they got there, they took 3 little darts in their hands and threw them, one at a time, toward the black and yellow target on the wall. After their mission was accomplished, they reached their hand excitedly into a paper bag on the floor and extracted their prize…a piece of candy!
Yes, Wayne and I manned the dart booth at the Harvest Festival at church last Friday night! It was so fun to watch the kids running around the crowded room. (Of course, grandma to be that I am, I loved the little babies in strollers or safely strapped to mom’s tummy. One was only 11 days old!) But I digress!
It came to my attention as I watched some of the kids (mostly the littler ones) that when they stepped up to our booth they were a bit hesitant to get in line or to walk up to us to get the darts. That’s when mom or dad stepped in with encouragement like “that’s O.K. just walk up to the line” or “just throw the dart at the board”. Sometimes mom (mostly dads I noticed) would walk up to the line with the child and help them with their task. At that point, the child would relax, often grin, and “get with the program”.
My thoughts were further piqued last night as we attended the wedding of a friend’s son. At the reception, after dinner and all of the formalities, a DJ began to play music and people moved to the dance floor to dance. I watched a young dad, holding his 18 month old standing off to the side bobbing to the music. Then dad put the little guy down on the ground. Much to all of our surprise, he was off LIKE A SHOT into the middle of the dancing. We literally could not see him! It reminded me of releasing a fish into the water after I have caught it; just a streak in the water and then gone! We all chuckled, knowing he was quite safe (except for the danger of being trampled) wondering when he would emerge. Quite a while later I saw him come wandering out of the crowd looking for dad or mom. He had a little grin on his face until he noticed that they weren’t where he thought they would be. He didn’t have a melt down, but he did look concerned as he cruised around the area. Then he spotted dad and ran right to him. Moments later, there they were again at the dance floor and my little friend was squirming and fussing to get down and boogey! All was well now that dad was there.
Don’t you think we are so much like those kids? We become fearful when we step out into unknown territory. And it seems to me that so much of the Christian life IS unknown territory! God asks us to do things and go places that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable and we hesitate or turn and go the other way! Sometimes just living in this uncertain world causes us to shrink back in fear or seek the sanctuary of people with whom we identify. It’s much safer inside the walls of church .
What I forget (and I learned a long time ago that if I do or feel something, I am NEVER the only one!) is that my Heavenly Father is right there with me offering direction…
Isaiah 30:21
And your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left. He is making sure that I am safe in His care…
Psalm 8:4
What are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us?
In case you didn’t remember, tomorrow is Election Day, and I confess that I have had more than a little angst over it. But here is God; again, reminding me that even that is in His hand! We can trust that whoever is elected, both locally and nationally, is in God’s hand and is not a surprise to our loving Heavenly Father…
Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he turns it wherever he pleases.
Romans 13:1-5
Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. [2] So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. [3] For the authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong. So do what they say, and you will get along well. [4] The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong.
[5] So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience.
Heavenly Father, I find myself in the same place as the man who came to you for healing of his demon possessed son. He honestly confessed “I believe, help my unbelief!” I trust you, but ask for your help in my lack of trust. I know that I fail often in that childlike trust that I have observed, but I want to trust you like that. Let me be sensitive to Your Holy Spirit’s prompting when I begin to feel fearful and help me to immediately look into your smiling Abba, Father eyes! Amen
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