Yesterday we went to the park. We didn’t last long, because it is already HOT HOT HOT!!! Princess went one way, Speed Racer went another, as has been the case most of their lives. But when Speed Racer got lonely and bored, he cried, “Princess, Princess, where are you?” And they would find each other and begin playing some sort of pretending game together. And just like that he was not alone. He had asked her to draw near, and she had. So it is with God. We feel we’ve walked away from Him, or we can’t feel Him or sense His presence, and we get lonely. But the bible says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to You. (James 4:8)”
Doodlebug is 13 months now, but she still does not walk. I can tell that she is capable of walking, but she is afraid to walk. It seems so fitting that God would have us crawl before we walk. He knew how fearful a people we would be. He has begun redeeming our fear all along the way, teaching us not to be afraid. Just as when we encourage Doodlebug to walk, we give her courage to negate the fear of falling, so that one day she will overcome it. At the park, she was able to climb up the slide (basically she walked up it) but she constantly had something to hold onto. At one point the other two experienced walkers followed behind her taking time to follow, but also helping when needed, and protecting her at the top. A beautiful picture of the commands of the more mature believers to aid the younger believers.
I was just talking to a friend the other day about how we want so desperately for our children to talk and walk, and then when they do, we want them to slow down and be quiet. 🙂
You draw such relevant parallels to matters of faith. Truly a gift.