Reason #229
I got lost on the way home tonight. I have lived in Lubbock for 6 years now, and even when I didn't live here, I spent my weekends in Lubbock. I know this town. I actually do understand and have even memorized the layout for the most part. But I set out on my way home and it was dark. I was quite confident in the direction I was going only to find out that I was headed the exact opposite direction. Once I finally got my bearings, I was a little frustrated that I had been heading in the wrong direction for that long. And, until I could finally get my brain to figure out where I was, I felt a little confused and nervous. It's not a normal occurance for me to be lost in my home town. And, if that wasn't bad enough, I even missed the turn to get to my house.
I remember going to the store with my dad when I was a little girl. I can't remember which store we were at, but I'm thinking for some reason that it was Sears. Anyyhow, that is totally beside the point. I remember that I was looking at bikes. I wasn't paying attention to where my dad was because I knew he was close by. We had showed up to the store together, and I knew we'd leave together. I had no reason to worry. My dad had never left me anywhere on my own before nor had he ever forgotten me. Really, my dad never took his eye off of me (and I'm pretty sure that's still the case). Well, I turned around fully expecting him to be behind me and, when I didn't see him there, I panicked. I had no idea where I was, and I was fully dependent on my dad to take care of me. His role when we were out and about was to look out for me, get me where I needed to be safely and make sure nothing bad happened along the way. So I worried and, of course you guessed it, big crocodile tears began to fall from my eyes. I was alone. By myself in this big store and I was totally helpless. My little heart raced as I quickly realized how vulnerable I was. I didn't know anyone, I didn't have any clue where to go, and my security was gone. My trusty leader and protector was no where to be seen.
So as I began to nervously wander a little bit, and as the tears rolled down my face, I heard his familiar voice. My fears quickly subsided. There he was. My dad to the rescue! I remember him asking why I was crying. I told him I was upset because I thought I was lost. And to this day, I still remember his response, "I could see you the whole time. I knew right where you were."
And as I cluelessly drove around my hometown tonight, the place I should be all too familiar with, this song began to play in my car. The chorus said, "Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did you leave us on our own. You are faithful. God, you are faithful."
I thought about my dad, about how he watches out for me. I thought about how he has always kept his eye on me, making my safety his number one priority. And I thought about the Lord and how He does the same thing. Some times, I lose sight of Him. Some times, I'm not quite sure where I am or how I got there. But the fact that He is always watching me is so comforting. When I can't figure out my location, or when I lose my sense of direction, He never loses sight of me. And when I go through moments of being unable to see Him, He still has his eye on me. He knows right where I am. And He's never lost track of me for one moment. He's never left me on my own. He's never abandoned me or forgotten about me. And so I'm grateful to serve a God who is ever so present. A God who can see us even if we lose sight of Him. A God who knows right where we are all the time. And most of all, I'm grateful that, like my earthly father, the Lord has also made it His mission to keep me safe, to watch over me, and to never let me out of His sight.
#229 - Because He's never left me alone or let me out of His sight.
"The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever." - Psalm 121:7-8
I remember going to the store with my dad when I was a little girl. I can't remember which store we were at, but I'm thinking for some reason that it was Sears. Anyyhow, that is totally beside the point. I remember that I was looking at bikes. I wasn't paying attention to where my dad was because I knew he was close by. We had showed up to the store together, and I knew we'd leave together. I had no reason to worry. My dad had never left me anywhere on my own before nor had he ever forgotten me. Really, my dad never took his eye off of me (and I'm pretty sure that's still the case). Well, I turned around fully expecting him to be behind me and, when I didn't see him there, I panicked. I had no idea where I was, and I was fully dependent on my dad to take care of me. His role when we were out and about was to look out for me, get me where I needed to be safely and make sure nothing bad happened along the way. So I worried and, of course you guessed it, big crocodile tears began to fall from my eyes. I was alone. By myself in this big store and I was totally helpless. My little heart raced as I quickly realized how vulnerable I was. I didn't know anyone, I didn't have any clue where to go, and my security was gone. My trusty leader and protector was no where to be seen.
So as I began to nervously wander a little bit, and as the tears rolled down my face, I heard his familiar voice. My fears quickly subsided. There he was. My dad to the rescue! I remember him asking why I was crying. I told him I was upset because I thought I was lost. And to this day, I still remember his response, "I could see you the whole time. I knew right where you were."
And as I cluelessly drove around my hometown tonight, the place I should be all too familiar with, this song began to play in my car. The chorus said, "Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did you leave us on our own. You are faithful. God, you are faithful."
I thought about my dad, about how he watches out for me. I thought about how he has always kept his eye on me, making my safety his number one priority. And I thought about the Lord and how He does the same thing. Some times, I lose sight of Him. Some times, I'm not quite sure where I am or how I got there. But the fact that He is always watching me is so comforting. When I can't figure out my location, or when I lose my sense of direction, He never loses sight of me. And when I go through moments of being unable to see Him, He still has his eye on me. He knows right where I am. And He's never lost track of me for one moment. He's never left me on my own. He's never abandoned me or forgotten about me. And so I'm grateful to serve a God who is ever so present. A God who can see us even if we lose sight of Him. A God who knows right where we are all the time. And most of all, I'm grateful that, like my earthly father, the Lord has also made it His mission to keep me safe, to watch over me, and to never let me out of His sight.
#229 - Because He's never left me alone or let me out of His sight.
"The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever." - Psalm 121:7-8