Do you ever think about the faith you had as child? The faith you had in your parents to take care of you; the faith you had in Jesus to be your Lord and Savior; the faith you had in some consistency in schedule with school, family, etc. Or maybe you had none of that. Maybe over time you grew to lack faith in your family or didn’t begin to know Jesus from a young age.
Behind my parent’s house is a big pond…. or a small lake. Depends on the way you view it. I moved into that house surrounded on three sides by water when I was in elementary school. It was the most exciting thing ever. To be able to go jump in and swim whenever we want was the biggest highlight of each summer.
We used to go tubing just about every single afternoon, letting my dad sling us off the tube over and over and over. It’s a wonder we all survived those tubing adventures.
Over time, the idea of swimming in the lake became less and less inviting. I began to recognize how murky the waters were and would think about the possibilities of snakes lurking below waiting for us to jump in. I didn’t like what I couldn’t see.
Why did I stop jumping in the lake? When did I lose this childlike faith to jump in not knowing what I couldn’t see… and not really caring? I just trusted it would be fine and more importantly that it would be fun!
Trusting the Lord is like getting in the murky lake. I trust even though I can’t see what’s below. I can’t control my circumstances, but I can control the way I react. I can cannonball into the waters trusting the Lord will be my life vest. He won’t let me sink.
So maybe next time I go home I’ll jump into the lake not overthinking it. Not honing in on the bad, rather focusing on letting me soul be a little freer. And I’ll remember the ways the Lord has set me free. I’ll take back my childlike faith in the waters that glitter like diamonds in the sun.
Mary Spencer Veazey 