It happened almost two decades ago, but I remember it as if it was yesterday.
She was 13 months old and finally ready to take her first steps. I was on the couch, reading, while she played with books on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. I saw a swift movement from the corner of my eye and held my breath while watching her get a hold of the ladder and pull herself up.
Ever so slowly, I put my book down and silently moved a little closer to the area where my little explorer stood. She turned around and opened her mouth in a triumphant smile.
Even now, years later, a smile spreads across my face as I type these words. Some of my favorite memories rest on the days when my two girls started exploring the world.
As they ventured into their brand-new, “mobile” world, there were dangers everywhere: that marble table in the middle of the library, where I’d envision my baby falling, head-first. Or those dreaded stairs, secured by a portable gate — the one that came loose in my nightmares, sending her down the steps. Oh, my. Indeed, during those toddler years, I walked around, half-doing my chores, carefully ensuring that my girls were safe in their wanderings.
Often, I ran to their rescue, and they didn’t even know it. They went on enjoying their day, oblivious to the fact that mom had just prevented an accident.
And then there were times when I moved or removed things from their paths that they so wanted to handle, and yet, I knew it would harm them: pointy objects that would prick their skin. Mean kids who were not invited for a second playdate.
As I watched my little girls become teenagers, the story did not change much. In their eagerness to experience the world or do what everyone else was doing, I had to protect them from themselves and unseen dangers as a good parent should.
They did not understand it because they do not comprehend protective love and will only fully understand it when they become mothers.
That’s also the kind of love that God has for us, only on a much larger scale — a love that protects, even when we don’t see it.
And it makes me think. We often thank God for the mountains he moves when He heals, restores and provides. But what about mountains that God moves from our path out of protective love, and we do not even realize they were there?
We often thank God for the mountains he moves when He heals, restores and provides. But what about mountains that God moves from our path out of protective love? Share on X
Indeed, we often become angry or upset when God removes something from our lives. It could be a job, a person, or a possession. In his eternal covenant of protection, we do not realize that God is often not only moving or withholding that person or possession. He is also removing something that would become a mountain on our way or a stumbling block on our path. We simply cannot see it quite yet.
As children start exploring the world, good parents see ahead and remove anything that could cause them unnecessary pain. So does God. Trust Him. That “thing” that He withdrew from your path might just have become a mountain that you could not climb.
Trust God. That 'thing' that He withdrew from your path might just have become a mountain that you could not climb. Share on X
“The Lord will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:7-8
Patricia Holbrook is a columnist, author, blogger, podcaster and international speaker. Visit her website www.soaringwithHim.com for her writing and subscribe to her new podcast “God-Sized stories.” For speaking engagements and comments, email pholbrook@soaringwithHim.com.
This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday, March 12th, 2022. Click HERE to find it on the AJC’s website.
This is a beautiful post…and oh so true. Thank you