Skip to main content

Calling Out with Confidence

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” –Isaiah 41:10, NIV

This past weekend, we took our grandchildren and their daddy to the elementary school playground behind our house. The grands believe we own the playground, so a visit to our home is not complete without playground free play.

Each of our grandkids has a different favorite. Our granddaughter likes to pretend the ground is lava. She and her aunt take turns pretending to be the lava monster and chasing each other all over the play set. Our oldest grandson loves pretending he’s a Ninja Warrior and swinging from bar to bar or ring to ring.

Not quite four, our youngest grandson usually sticks to the slide. He climbs to the top, grabs the bar situated just above the launch pad, and dangles for a moment, swinging his feet out over the slide and back to the platform. He’s growing bigger, but this move still steals my breath and causes my heart to skip a beat every time. After a few swings from the bar, allegedly there for safety—or maybe stability, Griffin drops to the platform and launches himself down the slide. Then he runs around to repeat the game again and again and again.

This past weekend, though, he decided to climb. Before we knew what was happening, he had pulled himself almost to the top of a Lego-blue wall filled with holes of all sizes for kids to use as hand and footholds.

“Whoa! Look at Griffin go!” said my son, drawing my attention from one child to another. My grandson was about six feet off the ground, but he was moving carefully, testing every new hold before letting go of an old one to move another limb. He was doing well, so we continued to watch from where we were. We could see that a fall was unlikely, and a soft landing awaited should one occur.

As we watched, Griffin was able to move a little further up the wall before becoming stuck. He tried to move to the right but decided against that. He tried to move up, then down, and then to the left. He couldn’t seem to find a hold that he felt comfortable with. Finally, he stopped moving, turned toward his dad, and hollered, “I need help!”

His voice didn’t hold panic or desperation. Griffin wasn’t clinging for dear life, fearing he’d let go and fall. He had simply realized he couldn’t go anywhere else on his own, so he turned to his father and stated his need.

My son didn’t hesitate. He jumped up and ran to where Griffin was waiting and helped him find his next safe position on the wall.

 Father, thank You for letting me witness this encounter between son and grandson. Help me remember it the next time I feel stuck. I know You are here, always near, letting me learn through the struggle, but ready to help when I call. I don’t need to panic or fear. You will share Your strength and wisdom. You will hold me up, so I won’t fall. Thank You, Father. I love You. Amen.

* * *

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No Worry Anymore

I don’t want to worry anymore. Don’t want to fear the phone call, the bill, arriving unexpected by mail, the month left at the end of the money, the unseen predator, the crisis not mine, but mine to fix or forever wonder if my two mites could have made the difference after all, at last, the natural disaster, the unnatural disaster caused by consequences unintended, unforeseen. I don’t want to worry about any thing, any more. And so, I give all of this worry unworthy to You Who sees only and all real threats to me coming, no surprise, no problem, only gracious provision preprepared . * * * I wrote this post for the Five-Minute Friday Link-Up. Click  here  to read other writers' posts on today's prompt: anymore . Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash
2 comments
Read more

God's New Work

Stories of how God has helped others realize their dearest dreams encourage me as I reach for a new dream. I am not going to name it because I am still striving to define it, but I’ll write more about that in a future post. For now, I will tell you that it has to do with reaching some of my writing goals. A few days ago, though, I encountered one of those success stories of God helping one of His children realize a long-held dream. I discovered the story because I had seen reviews of a new author’s first novel online a few years ago and added it to my TBR. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw reviews of her second novel which reminded me I still want to read the first. I moved that novel to the top of my list and then looked to see if our library had it. Somewhere in the process, I discovered that before she wrote either of these books, this author wrote a book on prayer. * I purchased it to read right away—and did so! I was surprised to discover that the author had self-published this 38-...
Post a Comment
Read more

A New Box of Bees: My Close Encounter

My son is a novice beekeeper. He trained for several months under a mentor. Then in May, he purchased his first box of bees, which has already grown into three boxes of bees, two in the process of raising their own queens. Justin and his family were able to taste the honeycomb and the nectar within just a few weeks of receiving their hive. This past weekend, my granddaughter proudly presented me with a jar of honey she and my son collected. Locally grown has taken on a whole new meaning: honey from hives thriving in my son’s backyard. Last month, my son and granddaughter took me to meet the bees for the first time. I had already seen pictures of my three-year-old grandson letting bees walk on his hand. My son had talked of petting them and assured me the bees had to be seriously provoked to sting. After all, bees want to make honey. If they sting someone, they die. Armed with this knowledge and led by my son, I approached the hives with what felt like a surprising amount of confidenc...
Post a Comment
Read more