just a vapor
Hey friends!!
Imagine you are 2 years old - wearing your favorite pink rainboots & raincoat, bundled up for the cold WA weather. You are walking with your hand tucked gently into a grownup’s hand. You adventure down the road on a long walk to new area with big mud puddles as far as you can see. You stand at the edge of a puddle, considering letting go of your grownup’s hand. You see your quivering reflection in the puddle as you look at the muddy water, rain splashing in drops, distorting the reflection of your bright raincoat every time. You are tentative, wondering how deep this puddle could be. Would it swallow you whole?! Will you get your socks & raincoat & ponytails wet?! What will happen? Your excitement bubbles over as you look up to your grownup’s eyes and she says, “Go ahead, honey, let’s splash in the puddles.” Your pink rainboots hit the puddle when you jump and you are delighted as water sprays everywhere & your socks even stay dry. The fear melts away as you feel the satisfaction of mud squelching under your boots. This puddle wasn’t as big and scary as you thought it would be - just fun.
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4: 14 & 15
I watched this precious 2 year old girl I care for experience the joy of jumping in mud puddles a few weeks ago. This was simply a little sideroad a few houses down from her house. It was a rainy day & we were all feeling tired and a little grumpy after a day inside. My perspective & her perspective varied greatly. This sweet girl was thrilled with the edge of uncertainty & didn’t know what to expect - I saw this in her hesitation in the depth of the puddles. I believe that a lot of us make choices and feels things, when in reality, when we step back, our perception may not be accurate. This reminded me of these verses in James 4, where we see how our lives are fleeting - truly a mist.
I don’t know about you - but I so often operate from my own limited perspective. I allow myself to lean into my fears & how I think something would happen or what I think someone is thinking. A few years ago, I was discussing a difficult life circumstance with a mentor, and she hugged me, saying, “Sabrina, none of this is a surprise to the Lord.” That is something I reassure myself with often. God knows all of our days. He planned them and formed us to glorify him & knew the struggles & losses & joys that would occur along the way a long time ago. It feels easy to avoid something because of what might go wrong, not strive for a hard goal because of the potential for failure, or miss an opportunity at a relationship because you are worried what someone might think about you.
I am so thankful for the comfort we can take in our Savior’s reassuring sovereignty. I feel so much freedom in trusting & prayerfully seeking His will for my life. I still need to strive to daily surrender my uncertainties to Him. So I am encouraging you, friends, try this with me. How can you daily surrender & trust your life to the Lord?