When You Cannot See

When You Cannot See

I heard the little girl cry out, “I want to go to the beach!” over and over again. Funny thing was that she was crying on the boardwalk to the beach.

While I was volunteering at Fort Clinch State Park and cleaning one of the beach house bathrooms I heard a family walking the boardwalk through the sand dune toward the ocean. I also heard a little girl crying that she wanted to go to the beach. She repeated those words, “I want to go to the beach!” over and over again. The irony was that she was seconds from seeing the ocean but was not yet able to see.

What she failed to realize was that her mom and dad were in fact guiding her to the beach. If she would have trusted her parents, her whole demeanor would have changed. In that moment it was like I relived situations in my life where my Father was walking with me to the revelation of His preferred plan and, like the disciples, I wanted to know, “Lord, when are you going to reveal your plan?”

As I look back on nearly 30 years of ministry I can see how every season has taught me critical lessons relevant to this season. While I confess that there have been a few times when I asked God, “When…” I can say that my days of throwing fits are long gone. Yes, I have shed tears and asked God probing questions but I am learning more and more how to trust the Father who is leading me, even when I rarely know exactly where that may be.

My Father said he was taking me to the “beach.” While I cannot see the metaphorical beach and do not know what route he will take to get me there, I am going to trust in the strength of the hand that holds mine and simply trust Him.