There are so many hidden lessons for us as parents that are revealed in nearly everything your child learns. As Ryenne grows older and her little personality begins to show more and more, I find it easier and easier to draw comparisons between the parent/child relationship I share with her, and the Parent/child relationship I have with my heavenly Father.
For example, today Ryenne's new accomplishment was getting stuck everywhere and anywhere. She would see something that sparked her curiosity, then plunge headfirst into getting whatever it was at whatever cost:
- "What's that cool box Mommy just put on the shelf? I have to find out what's inside!!! Ohhh - there's paper inside! And I pulled it out all by myself! Mommy, look - wait, where is she? Where am I? How did I get behind this chair?? Momm -" [enter heroine known as "Mommy"]
- "Hey, I've never seen the back of this big basket before. What else is back here? The side of the couch. Wow, it's pretty fun back here. And tight. How do I get out of here? Momm -" [enter heroine known as "Mommy"]
- "Whoa, I never knew it was so much fun to sit underneath this table. I can't believe I got here all by myself. All I had to do was crawl through those chair legs over ther- wait a second, the chairs just multiplied! There are five billion chair legs down here! How do I get out?? Momm-" [enter heroine known as "Mommy"]
Anyhow, you get the picture. Ryenne is constantly discovering new things and then finding herself stuck in a situation that she has no idea how to get out of. On my end of the spectrum, as her parent, I find so much joy in helping her OUT of those dead ends that she gets herself into. I see her little face go from excited to anxious as she realizes that she is stuck - and then I get to be the one to step in and rescue her. It's good for Ryenne to be curious and to wonder and to try new things and get to new places - and even if I can foresee that she will get stuck, or not really like what she finds, I allow her to experience the process and then do my very best to be there for her the minute she calls out for me.
Maybe you can already see the comparison. Today as I pulled Ryenne out from behind the chair after watching her squeeze her way behind it without any clue how to back out, I won't forget the expression on her little worried face as she looked up at me. She knew I was coming to help her - and a wave of relief spread over her. That's when I realized how similarly we act as children of God. So many times we chase after new things that take us away from the path that we know is home and safe and right, only to find ourselves in a dead end situation or in a circumstance that we did not plan on. Maybe it's chasing after a job that you were sure would be the right fit for you, only to find out that it was not what you expected and that you were actually better off where you were because that's where God had placed you. Do we remember though, that even when we get ourselves into sticky situations, all we have to do is call out to God and He will be there before the words even leave our mouths?? In fact, He is there all along, and He even knew exactly what would happen. But now you've learned something new - and your trust has grown even stronger in your heavenly Father as you realize once again that He is always there for you when you cry out for Him.
I thought about the amount of happiness it gives me to be able to pull my child out of those situations, and realized how much MORE joy God must have in being the one to rescue us time and time again. I am human, so there will be times that I don't foresee something or when I am not there for Ryenne when she cries out and needs help. But God is ... God. And He is always, always, always there to rescue us. How relieved and thankful we should be!!
So thankful for this little blessing of mine and the ways that God graciously reveals Himself to me through being a parent.
RM
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