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Leaning In

Last week my husband and I went to a park by our house with our grandson. He just turned two, and he’s a ball of fun. This kid has so much energy and a huge imagination. He literally never stops moving and trying to figure out how things work. He also has zero fear. He’ll climb anything, jump straight off, and laugh when he hits the ground as he’s going over to climb up again. And that laugh… it’s so contagious. He looks at you with big brown eyes, wrinkles up his nose, a perfect little dimple appears at the top of his right cheek, and he throws his head back into a hilarious giggle. He is sheer joy. He would spend 24 hours a day outside if he could, so the idea of a park was right up his alley.

When we arrived, he spotted the big kid jungle gym and darted in that direction. He instantly climbed to the top of the tall slide and went straight down. Beaming with pride as he looked at us, he began to clap as though he was prompting us to get with the program and cheer. We followed suit and joined in the celebration. After a few rounds on the big slide, he needed a new challenge. He worked over the curvy-tunnel slide sitting up, lying down, and twisting mid-slide. As he hopped off at the bottom after the third or fourth time, he caught a glimpse of the climbing wall that led up to the plank bridge. He ran for it and stood at the bottom, sizing it up. Then, he wrapped his tiny little hands around two rock-shaped handholds and began climbing. My husband and I quickly realized the holds were further apart than his stretched-out little body, so we looked at each other, and without saying a word, we both put a flat open hand midway between the holds. Not skipping a beat, our grandson began scaling the wall. He thought he was climbing it like all the other kids. He didn’t know that he was really stepping on our hands in between stepping on the holds. We moved our arms up behind him with each step, and he was at the top in just a few seconds. He jumped up, put his hands in the air as though dismounting at the Olympics, and smiled big. He was so proud.

Immediately, I thought, “That’s just like God.”

We move from challenge to challenge, biting off more than we can chew. Then God - in all His kindness - slips his hand between the holds so we can reach what we’re trying to do.

So, just in case you thought you were alone, wondering if you have what it takes to live the Christian life you want to live, I have good news. The scripture tells us that the eyes of the Lord are moving throughout the earth to strengthen those who are fully committed to Him.

When we commit in our hearts and minds that we will follow Christ and do what He asks us to do, we can trust that when we hit a speed bump or come across a difficulty we can’t figure out, He is right there.

He is close.

He’s watching, and He will honor our commitment to Him. He will strengthen us and give us all we need to accomplish what He’s called us to do. Lean in, and trust Him.

Reflection Question:

What are you facing that you know you can’t accomplish without God’s help?

How can you show Him through your actions that you are fully committed to Him?

Dr. Marian Redwine
SNU Vice President, Enrollment & Marketing
College of Undergraduate Studies