Trust

I recently read an e-mail that included one of those Microsoft Power Point slide shows…you know, the kind of message that is supposed to inspire you to live a better life, be grateful for all you have, etc. Well…it worked!

The slide show was about all the people who just missed being at the World Trade Center on that fateful day—September 11, 2001. One man was late to work because it was his son’s first day of kindergarten. Another was late because he wore new shoes to work, which rubbed a blister so he stopped at a store on the way to the office to buy a band-aid. The theme of the slide show was to be thankful for all the little annoying delays in life because those things keep you just where God wants you.

As I pondered the message in the e-mail, I began to wonder if God will one day show us all the times He protected us throughout our lives. Will we finally realize the reason we were stopped by a train on the way to work, or late to a meeting because of traffic, or missed a flight because we misplaced something at home? I imagined being in awe as I might truly begin “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18).

I thought about how much I love my own children and how I wish they could truly understand, even at their young ages of 3, 2, and 3 months, just how much I love them. And I was reminded about a time just this past week when I found myself begging my 3 year old to trust me.

You see, my daughter had nasty scrape on her big toe. She had a large piece of skin hanging off of her toe (I know, TMI, right?!?) that I wanted to cut away so that her toe would not become infected. My daughter, of course, was kicking and screaming, “No Mommy, no! Leave me alone!” It crushed me that she didn’t trust me. That she couldn’t see I was trying to make things better for her. That she can not comprehend my love for her and realize that even if it does hurt, in the end, I have her best interest at heart.

And then I felt God’s gentle nudge. I felt as if He were saying, “See Jenny, I feel the same way sometimes. I love you more than you could ever imagine. Why won’t you just trust me? Even when it hurts?”

Let me encourage us all to trust Him…even when it hurts. He has great things planned for us. He has our best interest at heart. We can trust Him in all aspects of life. “He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3).