Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Running Ahead - Come On!

Mike and I went walking in a local park on recent beautiful Saturday. The park was full of young families. As Mike and I stopped beside the stream for a moment or two, one of those young families headed off on the wooded path which begins by crossing a bridge. Mom and Dad walked at a steady pace, but anyone that's ever started out on a walk with a child can guess where their little daughter was. Yep, six paces ahead skipping, hopping, jumping all to her own sing-song refrain of "Come on. Come on. Come on." Occasionally she'd personalize it with a "Mom" or "Daddy".
They passed on by and we headed for our car. We then came upon another small family, also at the end of their time at the park. Can you guess where their child was? Yep, on Dad's shoulders. No running ahead, no urges to go faster, no pushing for side trips and races. The little boy's head drooped a bit, his back bowed, and his little arms had all they could contend with just holding onto his daddy's head. The legs streaked with dirt hung limp and tired. The walk which had refreshed and strengthened mom and dad, had worn him out.
Such a simple thing to learn, but I don't think I have.
God and I start out on a journey and I can't enjoy it for wanting to go faster, see more, climb the hill quicker, have a little race with others on the journey, jump, skip, hop anything but just walk.
And how do I end up? Worn out.
Lucky for me God doesn't just shake his head in pity as he passes me by. Nope, he picks me up. Time and Time again 'cause I don't seem to learn this lesson very well.
How about you? Anybody else have a tendency to run ahead of God? For some reason I don't think I'm the only one he has to carry sometimes.