In His Grip

Parenthood, as it is meant to be, is an overwhelmingly beautiful parallel of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  I love the intimate little ways that God speaks to me, as I speak to my son.  

Gideon has had stomach problems his entire little life!  So at the beginning of each meal we give him an enzyme to help him digest his food.  It's in capsule form so we break it open and pour out the powder on his first bite of food.  Now this can be quite stressful when we have a hungry boy pulling at our legs with tears running down his face because he can't stand to wait another SECOND to eat!

One day last week, I was breaking open an enzyme but my fingers got wet, which seriously inhibits this process because it causes your fingers to STICK to the capsule... then the powder gets stuck in the capsule as well... and it just takes longer to pour out (ok, like a whole 15 seconds longer, but when you have a screaming boy at your feet 15 seconds seems more like 5 minutes).  Now let me tell you, this intense moment was full of tears, screams, and drama-drama-drama!  So in an attempt to try to calm my son down, I was saying to him, "Gideon, Momma is TRYING.  You have to wait.  I promise I will give you your food!  Calm down, it's coming.  You just need to wait."  And in the very same breath I heard the Holy Spirit speaking straight to ME through the words coming out of my mouth (I am discovering this tends to happen a LOT in parenting).

God began downloading truth to my heart... 

The Lord is ALWAYS at work to accomplish His good and perfect will in our lives.  It may not always happen at exactly the pace we want it to.  We may dramatically cry out to him in an attempt to speed along the process or even just in hopes of getting exactly what we want, but that doesn't change the fact that HE IS STILL AT WORK AND HE WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL!  I had encountered a little kink in the enzyme process (which ended up prolonging Gideon's lunch time by a whole 15 seconds... LOL... Oh, I love my dramatic boy!), but that did not change the fact that I WAS still at work to give my son his food.  The same truth applies with my Heavenly Father!  I believe that there are many times when God is TRYING to work something out in my life... Perhaps He is trying to speak to someone's heart about being a part of the process and maybe they are not listening to Him... Or maybe someone is not praying... Maybe someone is being deliberately disobedient (maybe that someone is even ME)... And maybe He has to finally move on and find someone else or another solution to help Him accomplish His plan.  And this could end up taking some time. We just NEVER KNOW what He is doing behind the scenes of our lives.

Now, I laugh at the fact that 15 seconds could make THAT big of a difference, but in the mind of a toddler it is a VERY big deal!  And I believe that God looks on us with the same kind of perspective that I had for Gideon in this moment.  It seemed silly to me that he was so worked up for his food when I was standing right there ready to give it to him.  What if God is sometimes looking over my situation like this? And maybe I'm too busy crying and whining that I can't even hear Him speak over me saying, "Gina, I AM working.  It may not look exactly like you want it to but I promise that I will accomplish My will.  You have to be patient and wait."  His timing is NOT my timing.  

"With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord is NOT slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you... " (2 Peter 3:8)  

Another fun stage we are currently going through at 17 months is the fact that Gideon suddenly HATES his car seat!  He will arch his back in an attempt to keep you from buckling him in.  And then... He cries... And he cries... then cries some more!  We, his parents, know that he is safe in this seat and that we are taking him somewhere for a purpose.  However he doesn't understand WHY he has to stay in this seat for an extended period of time. So there is this precious moment that happens when his Daddy reaches back and rubs his little head. Gideon grabs his hands.  And he calms down.  He knows that even though he is stuck in this seat, unsure of where he is headed, he can hold on to his Daddy's hand and trust that he is safe.  

We are called to have this kind of blind trust in our Heavenly Father... To reach up and take His hand in the middle of frustration and uncertainty... in the middle of the unknown... and to smile as we rest in this place.  Sometimes I don't understand why God has placed me in a certain uncomfortable situation.  I DO know that He is always at work.  I DON'T always know how long I will have to remain there or even why I am there.  But I trust that my Daddy knows the perfect timing to lift me out.  And, in the meantime, I can rest in the comfort of His presence.

He is always reaching down to hold me tightly in His grip.