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It was a picture perfect afternoon. The kids playing in the waves, me and the hubby sitting on the beach. I jumped up to join my daughters in the ocean. Leading my oldest out into the waves. She was apprehensive, my husband skeptical, but I assured them it was fine. I was in control. We went out deeper, and deeper, and watched a wave coming towards us. I told her to jump when it came, not realizing the huge force of the wave. It knocked us down. I lost my breath. I lost my daughter. When I came up I looked for her frantic. Then saw her injured, scared, and running for her father. The force of the wave had knocked me on top of her. The roar of the ocean and the reality of its force had left her fearful. She remained so for the rest of the trip. The picture perfect vacation… not so picture perfect anymore.
Looking back on that day I realized I made a HUGE mistake. I got too confident in my own abilities. I didn’t look at the big picture, or realize the possible dangers. Until the wave knocked us down.
Isn’t that how LIFE is?
We are floating along in life. Confident in our abilities. Sure that we have this whole thing together and then the waves of life knock us down time and time again.
A situation happens that is out of our control, and we scramble. We wonder what we are going to do.
We begin to wonder why this is happening, and what we can do to fix it. Never stopping to SEE the big picture.
We need to rely LESS on our abilities, and FULLY RELY ON GOD!
I believe strongly that when we become TOO confident in our abilities, when we begin to rely more on ourselves than the Lord. THAT is when we are in danger. THAT is when we begin to wade deeper and deeper into the darkness.
If I think back to the times when life knocked us down, almost always I see a pattern. We became too confident. We chose what WE wanted more than we prayed asking God’s guidance. We didn’t fully seek the Lord’s will or listen to those who had been on this journey longer than us.
Just like the situation at the beach. Had I listened to my husband’s voice, had I trusted my daughter’s hesitation, had I seen the BIG picture, I would have NEVER put my daughter in harm’s way.
I can thank the Lord for keeping us safe that day. I can thank Him for allowing the situation to not be any worse than it was. I can be grateful that He kept His hand upon us, despite the fact that my overconfidence put us in harm’s way.
Moms, I encourage you today to NOT let that happen. Ask for guidance in a situation where you may not be seeing the big picture.
Maybe you are questioning your ability to homeschool, and wondering if you made the right decision.
Maybe your marriage is fractured, and you’re not sure what your next step should be.
Maybe one of your children is on a path that isn’t the best, and you’re not sure how to guide them through this stage of life.
Maybe it is a job decision or a financial burden.
I encourage you to make time to pray. Don’t be overly confident in your own abilities. Instead fully rely on God. Make time to seek out the Lord’s will. Talk to those who have been on this journey longer than you, or who may see the big picture.
I promise you, you won’t regret it!