A little girl stands on the edge of a swimming pool, a little tentative and yet excited at the same time. While she stands biting a nail, her daddy stands in the water, arms outstretched, urging her to jump in and swim to him. He’s only about 4 feet from the side of the pool. A big smile spreads across her face as she jumps in with a splash and begins paddling her arms and kicking her legs, heading toward her dad. He never takes his eyes off of her but slowly steps back a little farther without her really noticing. She keeps swimming and he steps back a little more. When she’s had enough and starts to splutter he grabs her just at the right moment and pulls her to himself. They hug, laughing. “Why did you keep moving back, Daddy?!” she asks still panting a little but hanging on with arms and legs wrapped around him. “I knew you could go farther. I was watching and I was right there in case you went under.” Even though it was a little disconcerting, it bolstered the little girl’s confidence in her ability to get to Him again the next time. She could do more than she thought she could. Her dad proved He was trustworthy.
I read an interesting supposition in a book the other day: that God answers prayers more readily for new followers/new believers because they are so fresh in their faith and need frequent reassurances to build trust. The author proposed that as we grow and mature God doesn’t answer as quickly because He wants us to seek Him, to press in harder, sometimes even reaching the point of desperation for Him. He knows we can go farther. What do you think? Continue reading
I realize that my child needs me but in different ways and definitely different doses. Remembering how I thought and acted at that age has been helping me tremendously. I remember being so eager to get out and get away from home, not because I didn’t love my mom and dad, but I was tired of that routine and ready for something new. The new and unknown was exciting and full of possibility. I would be creating my own milestones, making decisions wise and foolish, having adventures, doing my own thing. No sister and brother to contend with, no parents to determine my curfew or how I spent my time. It was a heavenly time between being home with them and the pressures of real life that would follow college. Freedom!
The day finally arrived for Kimmi and she is now moved in at AU and ready for her first year of college! She had her car loaded up and ready to go and after running some last-minute errands in the morning we headed to Anderson in the early afternoon. Driving over, I kept glancing in the side rear-view mirror to see her following behind. The words in the mirror were a strange comfort: “objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.” John wondered aloud if Kimmi had butterflies. “I do,” I replied as he chuckled.
We arrived at Rice Hall, where I lived my sophomore year and John lived for four years. A friendly student started to lead us upstairs to her room and as we rounded the 2nd floor set of stairs we were greeted by a bunch of smiling, colorful, upper-class art students (the dreadlocks kind of gave it away). They guessed Kimmi’s name until they got it right, then told her they were ready to help her move in! The moment they began their enthusiastic welcome to a much-delighted Kimmi, I could almost feel John and I becoming invisible and fading farther back in the stairwell. This is what’s supposed to happen, though. 
We drove out to Crawfordsville to the home of a sweet older couple selling a used Geo Tracker, the car of my middle daughter’s dreams. Did I mention that she was hoping for a teal-colored Geo Tracker, to be specific? We had heard that the car was blue with a white roof but were happily surprised to drive around the corner, arriving at the couple’s house, to see that the car is actually teal! Kaitlin practically jumped out of the van before I could park. 
Along the Narrow Path 