It was a beautiful fall afternoon. As I always do, almost every Friday at noon, I pray at Scissortail Park for a Mighty move of God in my city of OKC. I haven’t stopped now for a year and 6 months, and I won’t, until Jesus tells me to stop or I die, whichever comes first.
This particular day, the sun was out, a little breeze, just enough for a light jacket, with hardly anyone around. On Fridays you see a tech crew setting up normally for a show or concert that evening, but the park is normally all mine. This day I was joined by a father and his daughter, a young girl around 8 years of age. I could tell she had asked her dad to ride on top of his shoulders. After her giggle, he started to shove his hat tighter around his head and began to lift his daughter up. The girl yelled out a scream and then laughter as they walked right in front of me, headed for the hill.
I started crying as I saw this. It made me think of our hard journey of having kids, not being a mom, and on random days, being reminded. It made me think of how much I’ve missed my dad these last few years after my mom’s passing.
As they continued up the hill, the father let the girl down, and they began to dance and then they started chasing each other around the lawn. Moments later, the girl decided to run up the hill. The father was very close behind her as he gave her encouragement to continue the steep climb. The young girl began crawling up the hill as the father continued to cheer her on. When they finally made it to the top, they both yelled and waved their hands in the air as if to claim their victory. It was quite the accomplishment! It was also quite amusing seeing the two of them rolling down the hill afterwards. That was definitely the reward at the end, with dizzy looks and loud laughs!
As I sat there watching them, I couldn’t help but think of how much my Heavenly Father has cheered for me, danced with me, and carried me on His shoulders. At this exact park just two weeks ago, my Father, my Abba, my Beautiful One, carried me by sending over 10,000 people to a worship event for our City of OKC that CNOW hosted. He cheered for me through a year of praying and planting seeds on that lawn where the gathering took place and He guided me with faith on believing that He would accomplish all that we asked of Him that day. He has carried, cheered and guided me through a lot of things I have no clue about.
That’s what our Father does for all of us. We can trust Him. Isaiah 30:21 says, whether you turn to the right or to the left, there is a voice behind you saying, “This is the way! Walk in it!” Isaiah 58:11 says, “The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
So if we have His guidance, we can never fail. The problem is, are we willing to listen. Are we willing to forsake all things to hear only Him? That’s the secret to following Him completely and when that is followed, true life is given in return and I believe that no man can shake the person who is fully committed. You will know and understand when you are being carried or given the ability to walk or crawl to get to the finish line.
The beautiful part of this story is the girl crawled to the top of the hill, but stood in victory to cheer! That’s my prayer, until He tells me to stop or until the day I die, when I finish, I’ll be in a standing position yelling “Hallelujah! All Glory to the Utmost High!”….right up to the finish line and then we get to celebrate rolling down the hills together.
From A Traveler Just Passing Through