Leading from Behind

"the Lord will go before you; 
the God of Israel will be your rear guard."
Isaiah 52:12

I went for a walk with my sweetie the other day.  And we came to a place in the path where we had to go single file.  And, as generally happens, we both backed up to let the other go first.  His thinking is that of a gentleman.  Sort of a "no, no... after you" thing.  But my thinking is that I don't want to go first.  He wants me to be where he can see me, can reach out a hand if I stumble, maybe holding the door for me, etc.  But my thinking is that if I'm going into something unknown, I want him to take the point... to get a feel for the situation before I go in.

Therein lies the dilemma.  As much as he loves me, he simply can't be both in front of me, and behind me.  And I find that again, I'm expecting the impossible of my wonderful hubby ~ I'm expecting him to be what only the Lord can be for me.  Sometimes someone is so important to us, does so much for us, that we start to expect even more.  But that sets both people up for failure.  The challenge is to appreciate the people in our lives for who they are, without ever expecting them to be more than they can be.  To be thankful for the role God has each one play in our lives, without ever expecting anyone to take His place.   The Lord wants to be my Father, my Companion, and my Savior.  And I can relax when my thoughtful hubby protects me from behind, as long as I am letting the Lord take the lead.