A toddler walks barefoot with his father; holding onto his hands. The child sees a dark-new area ahead that catches his interest, so he asks his father to go explore it. The father replies with, “Dear one, if you want to go there, you must put your shoes on.” The toddler was stubborn and believed that he would not get hurt as long as his daddy was there, so he denied the shoes and continued to walk on still-tender feet. The father reluctantly consented after a few more tries of convincing his dear one, but knew his child would get hurt.
As the toddler walked upon the ruff terrain, he stepped on a thorn bush and began to bleed. He let go of his father and fell down to hold his wounded feet. Suddenly he realized that the darkness was around him like a thick blanket…”Daddy, where are you!?,” the child cried out…for he could not see his father because he let go of his steady hands in the darkness.
The Father was there; he was always there, and he had picked up the toddler and began kissing his tears away. The child finally reached up and embraced the One who was with him through it all. The father carried him for awhile (as he healed) and then told him to try walking again…but reminded him to put on his shoes, and he did so with his father’s help. The toddler grasped his father’s hands and together they continued their walk…
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What is the meaning behind this story? Well, there could be many interpretations of what is behind this short tale…but I will do my best at listening and typing to what God is saying to me. Haha Luckily, God is ever-patient with me. ;P If He can use the stuttering Moses to speak for Him, then I know He can make my clumsy fingers type something decent.Â
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Anyways…here we go.
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I saw the darkness ahead and thought I could handle it because I had my Father (God) with me. Little did I know that “I was looking at the storm while standing on the seashore.”Â
Sometimes, correction, MANY times I think I can handle what awaits for me ahead in life because I am holding onto my Father’s hands. Little-did-I-realize that God tells us what we need on our journeys (like applying the armor of God daily-Ephesians 6).
He is ready to give us the tools we need to walk among darkness and thorns, tools to climb the mountains ahead, and equipment to fight the battles that wait for us in the future…
Are you listening to His still but ever-present voice? I know I wasn’t. He was talking to a wall of stubbornness with me, and I got hurt by walking in the pride of my walk with God instead of humbly listening to His instruction before putting a step forward…I let go of His hands, felt alone, but he was there the whole time…wiping away my tears with loving kisses. I reached out for Him, He held me close.
My dad (earthly father) always reminds me to have a “walking and talking” relationship with God…not just walking or even talking but conversing (which involves listening).
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What is God advising you to do this very moment as you continue to walk in your journey?
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