Being home this weekend, I get some time to spend with my niece. She’s 14 months old and the cutest baby you’ll ever meet. She’s pretty smart too. She has a bunch of things she can do and say that’ll make you just want to hug and squeeze the life out of her. Right now she’s in the phase of life where she is learning to walk. She’s pretty good at it too, except for one thing: she can’t walk on her own yet. She has to constantly have at least one hand grabbing onto something otherwise she won’t move any further.
One thing she likes to do a lot is to stand up next to the sofa and walk along grabbing whatever she can until she gets to the end. As I was playing with her today and walking with her, I thought there were some good lessons I could take away from it.
As I watch my niece walk, I realize she’s very afraid of falling. She doesn’t budge when she wants to go forward but knows there isn’t something to hold onto. She’ll just turn back and be happy with how far she’s already gone, not wanting to go a little farther. Similarly, as she walks along grabbing different things, she would rather hold onto unstable shaky things (like a coat hanging on a hanger) instead of grabbing onto my hand. Even though by now, she realizes that when she holds onto my hand I won’t let go of her, she still chooses to hold onto the shaky things. Only when she goes as far as she can on her own does she finally grab onto my hand. I think that in her mind, she believes I am the one that causes her to wobble when she stands. In reality it isn’t me, it’s her! She is the one still learning how to balance herself but she doesn’t realize it yet.
I think God must see us in a similar way. How many times do I choose to walk on my own, holding on to the things I think are secure when the most secure thing is God himself. He always has His hand out wanting us to walk with Him yet I continue to only go to Him when I run out of options, when I “come to the end of the sofa.” Rebuked by a baby. sigh.
I need more faith. I’m still learning to walk.
