"follow His steps"
1 Peter 2:21
Spent the morning in Dallas today. We are visiting family in Texas this week, and we drove to Dallas yesterday. So today we spent some time walking around Dealey Plaza, which is the place where President John F Kennedy was assassinated. It was a beautiful morning, actually. The weather was perfect for walking around ~ mildly warm, and overcast. The clouds kept the sun from beating down on us, but they also lent a somber tone to our exploration.
Because the president was in a moving car at the time he was shot, and because there is so much conjecturing and not enough facts, there’s quite a bit of walking ~ from the Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired the shot – or shots… to the overpass from the direction the motorcade was coming, down the street to the grassy knoll. And there are other people walking and pointing and taking pictures, and because it’s the heart of a city, there are plenty of cars.
My brother-in-law had dropped us off, and gone to find a place to wait with the car, and after seeing everything we wanted to see, we were hurrying back to where he had parked, but by this time, I was completely turned around. If you know me and my sense of direction, you’ll know that’s not saying much, but I had no idea which way was north, or which way we had come from, so I was letting the Apple of my Eye do the leading. We couldn’t walk four abreast on the sidewalk, so he and my Awesome Girl were in front, and I was walking behind with Amazing Boy.
As we neared an intersection, and had to make a decision about going straight across or turning right, the Apple of my Eye turned his head slightly, and said something to me. I knew he was telling me which way we needed to go ~ just keeping me apprised ~ but I couldn’t hear him over the sound of the cars going by.
I didn’t really need to know which way to go. I only needed him to know which way to go. But just in case whatever he said was important, I wanted him to know I hadn’t heard him. So I called to him, “I can’t hear you, so I’ll just follow you.” And as I spoke the words, I realized that I’ve said that same thing from time to time, to God.
God’s hard to hear sometimes. We’re so easily distracted during prayer. Sitting down to Quiet Time, the first thing one realizes is that “quiet” is impossible. It’s simply turning off the TV or closing the kids into their bedrooms to play, only to hear the hum of the dryer, or the noise of traffic, or the singing of crickets. Pretty soon, I’ve forgotten about God as I try to decide what color to repaint the wall in front of me. And I’ve probably told Him what I wanted Him to hear without ever hearing anything in response.
But following? I’m good at that. I follow my husband on city streets and confusing freeway interchanges, and I follow God through His Word. What should I have for dinner? I don’t know, but I know I should love my neighbor. What color should I paint that wall? I don’t know, but I know I should spend more time in that chair that faces it, reading my Bible and thanking Him for being who He is. And who He was. And who He always will be.
When Jesus left His disciples, He promised them His Spirit to be their guide. And all they had to do ~ all we have to do ~ is follow.
~ "he who does not take up his cross
and follow after Me
is not worthy of Me" ~
Matthew 10:38
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