Midway through I asked Gabe how he was enjoying our one on one time. I said to him, "It's like we're on a date! A mommy/son date." He replied, "No, Mom we're on an adventure! A great adventure!" Boyish fun runs deep in him. Girly romanticism obviously runs deep in me. :-)
So, he's quiet for a few minutes and then says to me, "Mom. God's in front of us."
Say what???
And, at this same moment I'm entering a heavy traffic intersection and my brain says, "Alert! Alert! The child sees God in front of us! Impending collision!"
Of course, nothing happened. No collision, not even a near miss. So, I prod for a little clarification.
"Gabe, what does that mean...God's in front of us?"
"Mom, he's on the adventure too! He's right in front of us, leading us."
Boom. I could leave it right there. I could end this post and be happy you whom have read it have gleamed plenty of spiritual wisdom from my three year old.
But, that's just not me. Let's dissect and discuss, shall we?
"God is in front of us."
Did you also know that God is behind us? And, God is right next to us? God is omnipotent, the Alpha and Omega, the past, present, and future, He is all knowing, all seeing, all powerful. He is the Great I Am.
Do you worry about today? Do you worry about tomorrow? I do. I do way too much. I worry about parenting (am I good enough?), I worry about relationships (am I kind enough? did I listen enough? did I offend?), I worry about finances (will there be enough? {there always is}), I worry about moving (will God ever make a way back to where my heart belongs in Kansas?), I worry about the opinions of others (do people respect me as a hard working woman?), I worry about the future of this country (though most of the time I take the "stay away from the media and live in naivete" route far too often), and I worry and worry and worry....
Want to know what God says about all that? Let's go to the source, shall we? I believe the Bible to be The Living Word of God. It is truth and oftentimes a healing salve for my worrying soul. This first passage from Matthew really sums it all up, but I've included more verses that also speak directly to me on the issue of worry and why we shouldn't.
Matthew 6:25-34
“'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'"
Did you get that? Can't you see how well you're already being taken care of? Can't you see you cannot control the circumstances of tomorrow just by worrying?
John 16:33
"'Do you now believe?' Jesus replied. 'A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'"
Merely having a faith in God does not promise a life of serenity and safety from harm. We live in a world that is, at times, quite harsh...but don't worry...God has already won...He is with us even through the harsh realities of life.
Psalm 46:1-3
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."
When all the world seems to be crashing down around you, God is still there.
Psalm 56:3-4
"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. what can mortal man do to me?"
Not IF I am afraid, but WHEN. God knows we have fears, He created us after all. So, WHEN you are afraid, trust in Him.
Proverbs 19:1
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Ah, yes. One I repeat to myself often. God's way in God's time.
Psalm 130:5
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."
My soul WAITS...it needn't worry...it waits and places its hope in the Lord.
Oh, my I could go on and on with the scripture references, but I'll stop there...for now. Don't you see? God has a plan. To quote the three year old, "God is in front of us." So, why worry? Well, because we are human and it is a fleshly nature that is easy to fall into and hard to get out of. I don't do New Year's resolutions. I decided they were dumb a long time ago because I never followed through with one. I do believe in life improvement resolutions though. The kind of resolutions that don't have an end goal. The kind that can always be improved upon because each day brings a new set of circumstances and challenges with it (an adventure, if you will). So, I resolve to worry less and trust more. For one, it is what the Lord has asked me to do, and for two, my soul is at peace when I can live in that place of trust instead of worry.
Does this mean I drop everything to allow God to take care of all the details? NO! God gave us brains, hands and feet for a reason. We need to use the gifts He has given us to carry out His will. He has entrusted me with two beautiful boys, and a loving husband, and it is God's will that I love them, care for them, provide for them. It is also His will that I love others and share Him with others. Hopefully I've done that a little in today's post. And, even more importantly, hopefully I do that in the way I carry out each day. Know that I am a flawed human, I won't always get it right, but know also that I am trying, striving to keep God in front of me, instead of trying to run ahead of him and make my own way.
Join me, won't you? Allow God to be in front of you on this great adventure called life.
Gabe is with me. Not a worry in the world for this boy.
No comments:
Post a Comment