The Brave Girl
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23
There is a park in Knoxville that I have spent years and years walking around, and only last month did I find something extraordinary. It had been a hard week, and I knew I needed some time outside to breathe and feel and think. My husband and I loaded up the car with our dog, Lady, and headed out.
Sometimes it really does feel like no one sees me and God is apathetic to my plight, but this day was almost comical as we counted up all the little reminders God threw right in my face on the walk. Bright, colorful leaves lined our path; a clear pack of geese flew right overhead and called to get my attention; a pack of German Shepherds appeared right after I said to Colton, “I’d love for Lady to see other dogs who look like her”; and then this surprise: I’d been wrestling with some big dreams and big heart musings for a while, and while walking this path I’d walked so many times before, I looked up and stopped in my tracks. Because there was this tree.
Chopped down to just its limbs, but it looked like a girl jumping. Arms spread wide, joyfully taking the leap into the clear water below. And it felt like such a gift, like God’s little nudge of “Hey little girl, I’ve got you; you can absolutely jump. This journey we’re on together is an adventure and you are meant to leap into the places I am calling you.”
It was such a sweet reminder that I tucked it away in my heart and have kept thinking about it. Today I went back to the same park, to walk and think, and I had to check on her again. Because maybe it was just a fluke or I imagined it looking so much like a girl, but nope! She was still there, just as free as ever. And I was reminded again of God’s great love for me, for His kindness to drop little things into ordinary life that become stakes in the ground of his faithfulness, and for His call to something greater, even if I don’t know what it is yet.
I’ll leave you with the song that came to mind as I walked back to my car, a small smile on my face, this precious truth tucked into my heart:
“Come away with me, Come away with me It’s never too late, it’s not too late It’s not too late for you
I have a plan for you I have a plan for you It’s gonna be wild It’s gonna be great It’s gonna be full of me”
—”Come Away” by United Pursuit