The year was 1998. The scene was Kmart in Cullman County Alabama. There was a cashier there with the most beautiful brown eyes, with homecoming queen beauty. There was a stockboy who was a captain of the Math Team. That boy loved to hear Code 1 to the front, because that meant he got to go get buggies...but why was that so nice, because as he got the buggies, he got to walk by that cashier, and if he was lucky, she would glance over, and give him a smile that took his breath away. And one day there was magic in the air, there was a blue light special on love, and that stockboy asked that cashier to go to Denny's with him. And that night, they saw a friend that told them about a play the next day at the community college. They both went, and he could not tell you to this day what that play was even about, he can say that he saw her hand, then his hand, then her hand, then his hand, then those hands were together.
The year was just last Fall in 2019, and I was walking along the streets of Universal Studios. It was a great trip, and I love taking the family to these places and watching their smiles. I remember it was such a beautiful day and we had just walked away from Harry Potter world, and were walking along a section of the road where it was not very crowded, but I felt a little hand in mine. I looked down to see Anabelle, and she was not looking up at me, but staring all around, and had just reached up to hold her dad's hand in comfort. The same thing happened very similarly the next day, but this time with Ruby. I know that this was probably started from an early age where those girls knew that when we got out of the car, they were to hold our hand, and it was expected of them to hold our hand for protection. But on these days, we walked hand in hand, not for their protection, but their comfort, and I loved our hands together.
On the spiritual side, we are the bride of Christ, and I remember a similar story of holding the hand for the first time. It was the year 2000, and I was fighting many things in my life, many decisions that should have been easy, but I continued to push them off. But a man by the name of Bob Myhan kept studying with me and teaching me the gospel, and one night I was obedient and was baptized. And I got to hold that hand of God for the first time. I remember the initial days still had some tough times, and I was really just reaching out for God only for protection. But over the years, with the encouragement of brothers and sisters in Christ, I learned to reach out in comfort, and to enjoy the walks with my heavenly father.
But back to that week in Orlando Studios, I must say it was amazing for those girls to hold my hand, but not once in that whole week did Sam or Davis even attempt to hold my hand. Why? Why would they not want to walk with me...because it would have been awkward, and people would look at us as if we were weird. And that is true...and similar to our spiritual journey, we have times at school, at work, in public when that walk may seem weird to others, that walk will be awkward, but the difference is that when you look up to the one you are holding hands with, and recognize that he is creator God. He is the one that sent his son to die on that cross...on that cruel cross...just so you could hold his hand. It won't matter any more what others might think or say...it only matters that you are reaching out to your one and only heavenly father.
So reach out tonight and be a part of the family. Reach up and hold your heavenly fathers hand in times of comfort AND protection. I shared this with the Chelsea church of Christ on March 11, 2020, and Magan asked me to capture it in this blog. As I write this, the Corona Virus is causing havoc across the globe. There are crazy people every day planning ways to hurt other people. The world is a dark place sometimes. But I have hugged each one of my children today, and hugged my wife. My hand is with my God, and I hope to end every day as happy as I am when I write these blogs. Because these stories help me see how much I have been blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment