I Wanna Hold Your Hand
To say it's been a rough month would be an understatement. I sit here reading and sipping my coffee in peace, and the depth of the situations are still sinking in. While I can't go into too much detail quite yet, I want you to know that we are ok. We are surviving, we are pushing through, and we are moving forward. Life has seemed to suddenly stand still. Like here we were just rushing through our daily lives and bam...life threw us a curveball, or two. What do we do when we're surrounded by fear or unknowns? I want to start with a story that happened yesterday.
It was a gorgeous and hot day outside. When it comes to my children, all they really need is a bucket and some water to entertain them for hours. I set up our little wave pool on our deck with the garden hose attached. It sprays water out of the sides like a sprinkler and in the middle is a nice little shallow pool. My three year old daughter loves to run in and out of that thing like no one's business! But my 20-month old son is a different story. I had to pick him up and set him inside the middle to experience the waves. But when he wanted to get out - it suddenly became tears, fear, and a near meltdown. You see he would not step out of that pool without holding my hand. He was scared of the unknown. I held his hand and gently helped him out of that pool. It was one of those "God Moments" where I felt God telling me to hold onto His hand to help me out of the waves.
I couldn't let that image out of my mind. I started Googling the key themes of "God holding his people's hand" or "God's right hand". Did you know the bible mentions these themes over 100 different times and it mentions do not fear over 350 times? There came up a passage from Isaiah that brings me so much comfort. Isaiah 41:10 - 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! And again in 41:13 - For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says "Do not fear, I will help you". The imagery of God reaching out His hand to me...the gentleness of a parent helping their child...is simply powerful and overwhelming. Just like I helped my son through his fear of the waves, I know my heavenly Father is right here with me in life's deepest waters. Just as I was physically there to protect my son, I know my God was physically there to protect me and my daughter in that traumatic car accident. My daughter will even tell you that she saw Him in the car with her....That image alone gives us all courage to keep on keeping on. The powerful image of Jesus with His arms outstretched over our windshield, and the image of Jesus in the backseat talking to my daughter will forever be on my mind.
While I wish I could say more about these events, I will keep that for another time. What I know for sure is that Jesus is extending His hand to you all today. Whatever you are going through, whatever area you might need help, whatever circumstance brings you fear, just know that He is there waiting for you to hold onto His hand. If you find yourself in deep waters, He will help you out. I'm relying on that fact alone and trusting that He will hold our hand throughout every season of life.
It was a gorgeous and hot day outside. When it comes to my children, all they really need is a bucket and some water to entertain them for hours. I set up our little wave pool on our deck with the garden hose attached. It sprays water out of the sides like a sprinkler and in the middle is a nice little shallow pool. My three year old daughter loves to run in and out of that thing like no one's business! But my 20-month old son is a different story. I had to pick him up and set him inside the middle to experience the waves. But when he wanted to get out - it suddenly became tears, fear, and a near meltdown. You see he would not step out of that pool without holding my hand. He was scared of the unknown. I held his hand and gently helped him out of that pool. It was one of those "God Moments" where I felt God telling me to hold onto His hand to help me out of the waves.
I couldn't let that image out of my mind. I started Googling the key themes of "God holding his people's hand" or "God's right hand". Did you know the bible mentions these themes over 100 different times and it mentions do not fear over 350 times? There came up a passage from Isaiah that brings me so much comfort. Isaiah 41:10 - 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! And again in 41:13 - For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says "Do not fear, I will help you". The imagery of God reaching out His hand to me...the gentleness of a parent helping their child...is simply powerful and overwhelming. Just like I helped my son through his fear of the waves, I know my heavenly Father is right here with me in life's deepest waters. Just as I was physically there to protect my son, I know my God was physically there to protect me and my daughter in that traumatic car accident. My daughter will even tell you that she saw Him in the car with her....That image alone gives us all courage to keep on keeping on. The powerful image of Jesus with His arms outstretched over our windshield, and the image of Jesus in the backseat talking to my daughter will forever be on my mind.
While I wish I could say more about these events, I will keep that for another time. What I know for sure is that Jesus is extending His hand to you all today. Whatever you are going through, whatever area you might need help, whatever circumstance brings you fear, just know that He is there waiting for you to hold onto His hand. If you find yourself in deep waters, He will help you out. I'm relying on that fact alone and trusting that He will hold our hand throughout every season of life.
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