One night during training camp in July, a squadmate shared with me the image that God had given her when she prayed for me. She told me she saw a joyful little girl holding tightly to God’s hand as they walked side by side. We spoke a little about what that meant, and I remember her talking about how children follow their parents blindly without asking three hundred questions, trusting that their parents know what to do. She told me that God wanted that kind of relationship with me; He wanted to hold my hand and lead me while I joyfully followed, trusting that He would take care of me.
Once you’ve hit adulthood, though, it’s really hard to go back to being a child. There’s something about the independence that comes with adulthood that we – adults – find necessary. We’re able to control our own schedules, make our own commitments, interact with and respond to others in the way that we see fit – we do what we want, when we want, and we like it. Or at least we think we like it. I don’t know about you, but for me, the whole being an adult thing becomes tiring, and I’m only officially a year or two into it all. It’s exhausting to have to plan things for the future, whether that future is your dinner choice five hours from now, or your career path five years from now. And if you’re anything like me, thinking up Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and Plan AB1 drain any and all energy you find left within yourself. You make choices, and then second-guess yourself thinking of what could have happened if you had taken one route over the other. It’s strenuous, and from what I’ve been told, it doesn’t get any easier.
But, being a child definitely isn’t as complicated. Everything is taken care of for you, and you’re just along for the ride. Instead of understanding childlike nature as a loss of freedom, I’ve started to think of it as gaining a whole new sense of freedom. If I take this literally and think of myself as a little girl holding God’s hand, I am guaranteed three things: safety, companionship, and navigation.
As long as I hold fast to His hand, I don’t have to worry about puddles, holes, bumpy paths, or anything like that. It’s not that we won’t encounter rough patches along the way, it’s that He’ll keep me safe because I’m His little girl. He won’t let me fall, and he won’t cause me to stumble. He’ll keep me walking steady, and He’ll even pick me up if He has to.
While I’m holding my Daddy’s hand, He promises to keep me occupied and entertained all along the way. He’ll be the best company I could have ever wished for. He’ll talk with me, listen to me, and He’ll even make jokes and laugh with me. He’ll be a true friend the entire way through, and best of all, I’ll never be alone.
And I won’t ever have to worry about where I’m going. I won’t have to stop and ask for directions; I won’t have to pull out a map, or carry a GPS with me, because He’ll take care of navigating. He won’t get lost or pretend to know the way; He knows exactly where we’re headed, and He knows exactly the route to take to get there.
All the while, I get to be the joyful little girl. I get to dance, and play, and sing. I’ll be able to skip, and hop, and giggle. I can tell Him a joke, and He’ll laugh. I can weep tears of frustration and confusion, and He’ll simply wipe them from my face and keep my vision clear. I can stare off into the distance and take in the beautiful sights, and He’ll keep me headed in the right direction. I have the freedom to live my life – I just get to live it blissfully with Him.
So forget trying to walk by myself. It’s hard, it’s dark, and I keep stubbing my toes. I just wanna hold His hand.
