Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)
I leaned down to peer into the backseat where Lillian was securely tucked into her car seat for the drive home. She was happily waving her little arms. I tapped on the glass and she looked over and smiled. You know the kind of smile that melts a grandma’s heart. A moment later Marc and I stood on the curb waving as the car carrying such precious cargo pulled away and disappeared from view. I much prefer arrivals to departures, I thought to myself as we walked back to the house.
Later I was on a certain social network and spied the picture my daughter had posted during their drive to the desert on Friday evening. Elizabeth said it had rained on them during the drive but had stopped as they began their descent to the valley. I studied the picture. The daylight was fading making the colors soft and muted. The sun was about to dip out of sight but before he said good night he cast color across the sky turning the clouds into a glorious tapestry.
As I continued looking at the picture I thought of Lillian in her car seat. She couldn’t see the view her mommy and daddy saw from the front seat. Her view was limited. From where she sat, she was unable to see the valley spread out as far as the eye could see. In fact she couldn’t even see her mommy and daddy from where she sat. She couldn’t see her daddy’s strong hands on the wheel as he drove down the winding road that would take her to grandma and grandpa’s house.
I thought about how Lillian could not control the journey. She couldn’t control how fast the tires on the car turned. She couldn’t control the engine that powered the car. She couldn’t change the scenery they passed or how others on the roadway drove. She could not control the weather or the road conditions. Instead of worrying, she trusted her daddy to take care of things and get her safely to where he was taking her.
I thought of the words in Deuteronomy that talked about the Lord going before me, being with me and never, ever leaving me. It was then I became aware of His presence and my thoughts stilled as He drew near.
“I will never leave you,” He said.
“Even when I am hurtling down life’s highway and everything seems out of control and scary; and the road gets so windy that I get that sick queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach? Even then, Lord?”
“Even then,” He said.
I was about to ask another question about His being with me, but He touched my heart and said, “I will NEVER leave you.”
I knew then that His “never” was every bit as sure as His “always” and He promised to never, ever leave me. To always be with me. I could trust that even when the road became bumpy and filled with pot holes, or the road windy, that His promises were sure and they shone like a tapestry across the heavens reminding me that His view is unobstructed and His plans no one can thwart.
The Lord and I sat a while longer in sweet conversation and then, I stopped to talk with Him about the day ahead. Lillian came to mind again and I smiled at the memory of her tucked in her car seat, a smile on her face. She didn’t need to worry. Her daddy was driving. I turned my thoughts back to the day ahead. My view was limited. I couldn’t see around the next bend. A smile touched my lips as I pictured myself tucked snugly in the seat of His will. There was no need to worry. After all, my Father was driving.
An Original Conversation at the Well
© Copyright by Diana Morgan, December 2, 2012
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