Where in the world are you?
Recently Joel, the eight year old, had to do a project for school about an animal. He chose the Rocky Mountain Elk and did an awesome job producing a diorama, report and doing his presentation. He selected this animal because he saw so many on his vacation to Yellowstone this summer.
All four of them talk about this trip endlessly, remembering every detail. Their family traveled with Gammy and Papa, Zach’s parents. It was an epic trip of a lifetime for all. The stories continue to flow and I know they will carry the memories into adulthood.
Papa rented some kind of mega van and the plan was to load up while mom was working on a Thursday and as soon as she got home, hit the road. Rachel knew that her own mom would be waking up frequently as they drove west through the night and so she shared a location finder app with me.
Often throughout the evening and as I would awaken, I would follow that little blue dot across the U.S. of A, thanking God that is was continually inching off the miles. Because they were in an out of cell service quite a bit once they got to the parks and such, I kept the app open and I could see where they were or at least their last satellite location.
One night well into the trip, as I was drifting off to sleep and praying for them, I looked at the app to feel closer and it showed a lodge where they were staying. The little blue dot that was her phone was moving along from a restaurant near by, across the parking lot and finally down the halls of the lodge. I drifted off to sleep; imagining their full tummies as they headed off to baths and games and reading and bed.
If you are a parent, you know that this is not stalking. This is love wanting to know where your children are.
Yesterday a dear friend commented on the post I wrote about Graham that she often thinks of how God watches over us as a loving parent. That was another thought Zach’s foggy photo had stirred in me as well.
He isn’t stalking us. He isn’t hovering over us to make sure we are doing everything perfectly.
He loves us. He made us and He cares for us and His watch over us is endless and perfect and pure.
Even when we are in the fog, His sight is clear. When we feel abandoned, we are not. When our sense of direction is blurred, He still sees the path. If we intentionally wander off, He is already waiting for us at the place where we will rejoin Him. If we are so busy having fun, He is enjoying our joy.
This is not robbing us of any kind of independence or autonomy. This is the deepest assurance of love and acceptance any human can know. Your little GPS system is never lost by Him no matter how lost we feel.
I am so grateful.
Grateful for a daughter who knows her mom and grateful for a God who knows His child.
Have a blessed weekend.
You are deeply and dearly loved <3