Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
if I go up to the heavens you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are
there,
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:7-10
My granddaughters Faith and Isabelle are just five weeks
apart in age and are both just became teenagers. Somehow this milestone in
their lives reminded me of the days when they were just two years old. They
discovered a game they just loved. It was their own version of chase. They ran
together across the kitchen and straight to the utility room door. They squealed
with delight when they reached the door and then ran back again. Every now and
then there was a little twist that sent the game in a different direction. That
happened when the door wasn’t tightly closed. Two little balls of energy hurled
themselves against the door and bam! It opened! Suddenly the hurling and racing
screeched (literally) to a halt and the two balls became two sprawled lumps on
the floor. Here is where our granddaughters differed greatly.
Isabelle was immediately offended, first that the door would
deceive her and disappoint her in such an ignominious way and then that the
fall would actually hurt. In that state she cried, pitifully and someone
scooped her up.
Faith was irritated. That door had one purpose in the game
and that was to produce a satisfying thump when she and her cousin landed
against it. To swing open allowing them to crash to the floor and not produce
the noise was unacceptable. She did however completely enjoy the thrill of
falling and watching Isabelle go with her. She was heartbroken when Isabelle
cried though and she got impatient at the interruption in the game.
In that little game our girls demonstrated faith in
different ways. They first counted on the door to remain closed and constant,
to provide a boundary for them and to participate, albeit indirectly, in the
game. They also counted on each other to continue and on the adults in their
world to scoop them up if need be.
Where could they go out of our reach? The game proved that
they could not go beyond our ability to save them. If they ran and fell they
will be lifted up. They counted on each other and each one came through. The
door wasn’t always co-operative and yet they believed each time they rammed
their human missile selves against it that it would hold. They were shocked if
the door opened and even more so if there wasn’t a willing and able adult
standing right there. In those moments Faith ran to find help, “Bisabelle is crying!”
She announced with a tone that says, “What are you doing that is more important
than helping us?”
There was no doubt in either of their young minds that
boundaries are important and help would come. If they had chosen to, they could
have run through the whole house but that opened up more hazards. Once the door
swung open, they could have escaped at least as far as the utility room but
they didn’t. They waited for order to be reestablished and then they continued
the game.
Watching them I learned that I can run and crash into
problems all day long or I can lift my hands to my God who will save me. We are
blessed to have a God that provides “doors” that will protect us and one who
will also scoop us up when we fall through. We are also fortunate to be loved
in a way that will never fail. There will always be a hand to save.
The girls are older now and not as quick to run to adults
for help and quite frankly, as their problems grow, we sometimes can’t truly
help them. We, the adults in their lives, have let them down or we will. Our Father never walks away from our “game.”
He never lets us down. Instead He stands firm and nowhere we go is out of His
sight or reach. For our part all we need is to emulate two year old Faith and
Isabelle’s approach and rely on God’s providence.
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