Down the Mountain

Have you ever tried to do something without the help of the Lord? By "something" I mean literally anything. Was talking to a dear friend yesterday about marriage, raising kids, and how to know if you have enough kids or if you're supposed to have more. Super good talk. She has much wisdom and love...actually we call her Love because, well she just is. We talked a lot about trust versus fear when it comes to how we see God and His ability to take care of us, especially when we are living His heart in these areas. I felt really good about all we had discussed. I felt like I was trusting Him with my marriage and children and the possibility of future children. Yes, I said it. Future. Children. I felt like I was trusting His timing too.

But then later, as I was having my "quiet time" with Him, He gave me a picture of what I was really doing. Ever had that happen? It's totally cool. So as I was praying about what Love and I had talked about all of a sudden I see myself flying down a hill, like the one pictured, on a bicycle. Not a mountain bike. Oh no, this was like my 3rd grade bike. It had streamers on the handle bars and a little basket in the front. I had my pink princess helmet on too. I thought I was doing pretty good. I was still on the thing after all. But you know that feeling you get when you're riding a bike or even running down a steep hill? That feeling like you can't keep up? Like you're going to face plant any second? Yeah that one. That's the feeling I got. I was breathless with anxiety. There was no way I could keep from falling. This is what raising kids with out the help of the Lord is like. Like falling down a large mountain. Ha! So true!

Then He gave me another picture. He reminded me what it was like to go trail riding on my horse (I used to have a horse). I would go with a friend, who happened to be way more experienced then I was, and we would try to find these little cliffs to climb and go down. Sometimes it was scary. Sometimes my friend wanted to go down terrain that I was nervous about. But I did trust my horse. We both had sure footed, experienced horses that knew what they were doing. The times that I was scared all I had to do was close my eyes. A horse riding expert may not recommend this but it worked for me. That's what the Lord reminded me of. I would hold on tight, lean back, close my eyes, and trust my horse. It was fun. This is how you do things, not in your own strength, but by His.

Sometimes life with God is like going down a mountain...about 30 mph...on a horse. Remember the cowboy movies where you see the cowboy gallop his horse down a steep hill? All you can do is close your eyes, hold on tight, and trust that the horse knows what it's doing. He doesn't always want to take us around the mountain. Sometimes He wants to take us straight up, down narrow paths, through rushing rivers, and down steep ravines. When we do things His way, trusting Him, and letting Him carry us it's easy...and actually kind of fun!