Friday, February 28, 2014

And He took them up in His arms

 Indeed, I assure you that the man who does not accept the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and laid his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:15-16

Man oh man, sometimes it is easy to overthink stuff. And fret. And try to be grown-up. Like those disciples shooing away all of the too much in their life. And I really think God just wants me to leap out and trust Him. And He will catch me.

And for some reason, that was one of my dad’s favorite tricks. Placing me up on high places…whether it be the kitchen counter or the tree in the backyard or relative cliffs, and then clapping his hands together he would say, “Jump, Christy, jump. I will catch you.” And he always did.  And the kitchen counter seemed like the biggest mountain in the world. But it was nothing to him.

I guess God wanted to paint that image in my head with non-fading colors. And I was telling a few stories of God’s catching to the librarian mom yesterday afternoon while my students researched production lines of their favorite products, taking into consideration economic, environmental and societal ramifications. And, oh yes. He has been faithful. And has caught me time and time again. He is strong, willing and able.

So why was I such a crabby pants?

When the Facebook plea came from a very respected but old friend, like old in that I haven’t really talked to her for like fifteen years since she was in my seventh grade English class, looking for a bed it Tucson for someone she didn’t know who left a message on the answering machine, the disciple in me tried to shoo her away.

I have a sore throat and the sniffles. I have 12 people coming for dinner. She has two dogs that do not like men which is why she can’t stay in a homeless shelter, and I have two cats and three men. And five hundred million papers to read.

But I could not still that quiet voice.

And I told Dustin that if this turned out to be from Him, I would sure know what His voice sounded like in the future because this voice was very steady and very clear.

And I called the lady yesterday afternoon between two afterschool meetings while I was waiting for Shaun to finish tutoring. And she called me right back and said that the guy she was staying with just came home drunk and angry and she was scared and packing her car. And I gave her directions to our house and then went to a meeting at the City Council Ward Office about the alley right-of-way behind our house.

And somehow it was eleven before she got here and I was, well, pretty tired. But after she opened her car door and fussed with all of the dog leashes she turned around and stared at me, and gasped, “Christy Coverdale.”

And yes, she had been in my church youth group. And had hiked the Grand Canyon with my sister. And gone to Baptist Student Union at Flagstaff with Darrow Miller, one of my all-time heroes.

And she was kind of nervous and embarrassed and talked too fast about running track in high school and this great job she had once at FedEx and well, then she made a mistake and fell off the cliff.

And really all of us, each one of us, is just one step away from a cliff.

And we each have a backstory.

Known to Him. And apparently He really wanted to remind me of this truth, that He knows the hairs on my head. And her head. In chapel Wednesday, Weston shared the verse For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

You. Me. Every single one.

And it is not about not having a job. And being in the process of applying for disability. And missing all of your front teeth. But you have a job interview today. He sees His little child, precious and cherished.

And two years ago she went through the court system to change her name to “Beloved.”

Because she is.

And He took a child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, “Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me; and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me.”


2 comments:

  1. Gosh I love this story. God is so very good. Who else could have arranged all of this? Thank you for sharing this story. I'm also really excited to learn about your blog--I'll be following it! -Mary Kaech

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