reckless abandon

FROM "A LESSON LEARNED"
We usually go grocery shopping every other week and nine times out of ten it's just me and Maddox who make those trips together. We try and squeese grocery shopping into the few hours Ashtyn is at school in the afternoons, which can be crazy at times but works best most of the time. Recently, I've noticed that each time we go shopping, have checked out and are pushing our fullly loaded buggy back to the car Maddox does something that both makes me laugh and shake my head all at the same time. If you know Maddox at all then you know that he is a risk taker. He is ALL boy and definitely leaps before he looks! He doesn't think before he speaks and he certainly doesn't use common sense in his decision making. I'm pretty sure he'll always be one of those guys who would rather ask for forgiveness then permission and will probably end up in the emergency room quite regularly from going through with dares from friends and for simply being the tough little daredevil that he is. Sigh. Anyway, though, each and every time that I am pushing our shopping cart through the Wal-Mart parking lot toward our van I notice that Maddox is walking with his eyes closed. When we're walking through any parking lot I make Maddox either hang onto the cart or hold my hand and when we have groceries he usually grips the cart. So, every other week, there's Maddox, strolling casually through the parking lot, hand on the buggy, eyes closed, breeze blowing against his face. He looks so calm. He looks so at ease. He has his trust fully in me. I'm the one pushing the buggy. I'm desperately trying to get all of our groceries to the car as quickly as possible without letting anything fall from the buggy and at the same time making sure to watch out for cars and other pedestrians. I'm dodging and pushing and sweating and anxious to get all these groceries home safe. Maddox, all the while, hasn't a care in the world. He has no idea if there is or isn't cars driving through the parking lot. For all he knows we could be walking right into serious danger but he couldn't care less. He's strolling. He's confident. He's sure.
Lesson Learned? Maddox trusts me! He fully, completely, without a doubt trusts that I have his best interest at heart. He trusts without even knowing it! It's natural to him. He doesn't have a reason to doubt. God so desperately wishes for us to have this same trust in him! He wants to push the buggy of our lives. He wants nothing more then to take on all the danger, to take on all the obstacles and to watch out for all of the pot holes in life while we simply walk with our eyes closed. Why would we choose to watch out for the speeding cars in our personal parking lots of life all the while worrying what could possibly come around the next corner when there's the option of simply taking hold of God's buggy, closing our eyes and letting the breeze brush past our face? God asks us to trust. He asks us to rely. He asks us to fear not. And yet so often we open our eyes and see all the dangers. We see the obstacles. We notice the scary, angry world moving around us and suddenly fear creeps in. We no longer have the faith of a child. We lose our ability to enjoy the small things. We lose our ability to smell the sweet afternoon air and feel the warmth of the sun. We make our walk with the Lord way too hard. We overthink it. God asked us to cast our cares upon him so why don't we take him up on his offer? I know it's easier said then done but please let's practice. Let's work toward fully trusting our God and our creator. It's what he so desperately wants from us. He's passionate about it. We weren't created to worry. We weren't created to fear. We weren't created to dodge moving cars, to steer around pedestrians and get our groceries home safely. We were created to stroll and feel the warm sun. We were created to close our eyes. Trust God. Trust his plan. Trust his path. He knows where the car is parked and he will get you there safely. Enjoy the journey and fear not! Does it get you to the car faster if your eyes are open and you see every scary speeding car headed your direction? No!! You end up at the same destination but you choose whether your journey to that destination is peaceful or scary. CLOSE YOUR EYES!! God knows what is best. He won't lead you astray. And when you have the urge to peak through parted fingers just to get a glimpse of what is going on in the scary world around you...DON'T!!!! Leave it up to the one pushing the shopping cart. He knows what's best. Take a hint from my reckless little 4-year-old and for once in your life leap before you look!!