TESTIMONIES

 

And a Little Child Will Lead Them

By Cindy Strote

 

When was the last time you learned something profound from the life of a child? Young children are full of wonder, life and energy. They are on a journey of discovery -- full of questions and seeking answers. Young adults, too, are adventurous - willing to take risks in order to experience more of what life has to offer. Perhaps they are seeking the joy, excitement and fulfillment that we, as "mature" adults, have learned to live without.  

Last week we had the privilege of helping pack up our twenty year old daughter to study and serve in Guatemala for a semester. Sounds exciting you say? That's what I thought when it was someone else's child going. This time it was ours.  It's amazing all the fears, anxieties, concerns, and questions that arise when it's your child that is stepping into the unknown. (Especially when it is your daughter traveling far away to an under-developed area where there are safety and disease issues.)

As our daughter chose to let God stretch her by leaving the world she knew behind, we as parents were also being stretched. Ouch!  God very clearly asked us to release our only daughter into His hands.

As I sought God in prayer regarding my fears, He was gracious to grant this vision. My husband and I were on either side of our daughter, walking her down the aisle. We stopped halfway, and she continued on. When she got to the front of the church, her groom was waiting for her; it was Jesus. He turned and looked at me and asked, "Do you trust me with her?" I couldn't exactly respond, "No. I would do a better job." That would not be an acceptable response, nor would it be true. I realized that day that she was not traveling alone. She had a faithful, caring, protective, and very wise husband traveling with her.  (Who, frankly, could care for her far better than I.) Unbeknownst to me, the girls going on this trip had been advised to buy a ring and wear it on their left hand in order to appear to be married. The same day God gave me this vision, our daughter was buying her ring.  What a precious confirmation that God is at work in all the details - caring for her, and reassuring our hearts.

Our daughter has stepped out in faith, believing God to nurture her, teach her and use her.  Her stepping out has called us to do the same - to risk trusting God with what is most precious to us. And in so doing, God has met us once again, in our deepest places.  

This is what I'm learning:  Stepping out of my comfort zone may feel like I'm taking a leap into darkness, emptiness and fear. The truth is that when God is calling me, I'm actually stepping into Him - moving deeper into intimacy with Him. And there is nothing more comforting or satisfying. Thanks, Abbey (and Jesus) for another life lesson. -- February 2008