Up the Hill

A few weeks ago, Robbie and I spent a beautiful afternoon at the park with our three girls. The park we were playing is at the base of a bridge with a dock that goes around under the bridge. And on the embankment is concrete. We took the girls to walk on the dock and of course when they saw the "hill" they wanted to climb. And of course daddy said yes! I stood at the base of the embankment yelling, "Hold Daddy's hand! Don't let go!" You know, the stuff mommy's say. The embankment was steep and they had a hard time climbing but they kept on. It was a beautiful picture of a daddy's love and protection and also of a daddy's desire for his children to push themselves and experience more out of life.



I did not think of that much until I read this devotion a few days later:

"You have been on a long, uphill journey, and your energy is almost spent. Though you have faltered at times, you have not let go of My hand. I am pleased with your desire to stay close to me..." (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

After reading this, the picture of Robbie on the hill came to my mind. If one of the girls had faltered on their climb, would he have turned to them and punished them? If they had mis-stepped, would he have left them there to fend for themselves? No!! He would have bent down and scooped them up. He would have directed their step to a better footing.

Jesus said "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him." (Luke 11:13)

Our Heavenly Father loves us more than anything we know. He wants us to climb higher. He wants us to stretch further. AND He wants to hold our hand as we do these things, knowing that we could never reach and stretch without the safety of those loving hands. And when we get out of step or fall we only need to reach for His Hand to guide us to the right step.