When you need to simply trust

While attending another church tosee neighbor children sing on a recent Advent Sunday, I experienced a poignant moment.

At the end of the service, a sweetfour-year-old sat in my lap, and as the directions for communion wereexplained, I had a bit of uncertainty about where the child I heldwould go while I took communion and when I should move forward. She had no uncertainty. She hopped off mylap, took my hand, and began leading me forward. Of course, I thought. She doesthis with her mother. She knows exactly what to do.

Several hours later, I stillpondered that experience. As so many of us do this time of year, my brain sometimesspins—checking the lists twiceand that sort of thing. It can all get so complicated.

“Whoever becomes simple andelemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom” (Matthew18:3).

There I was vexed about what to do next in the service inaddition to being anxious about many other things, and a four-year-old helpedme figure it out. The simplicity of her trust and relying on what she’d beentaught in the past left her with not a drop of anxiety.

Ah, to live in that sort ofrelationship with the Lord. We take his hand in trust, rely on all his all-sufficientfaithfulness, and move forward as opposed to fretting and trying to figure itout on our own.

We might be tempted to quoteIsaiah 11:6, “ . . . a little child shall lead them.” That verse would betaken out of context here, but I do think we can learn much from the childlikefaith of these wee ones. It helped me get a reset  and let my spinning wheels slow.

If you’re stuck trying to figuresomething out this Christmas season, perhaps the example of my little friend canhelp you, too, find a renewed place of simple trust and reliance on the Lord. Blessingsand peace, friends. 

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023