Walk with Me, My child

I wanted to label the thoughts from this season #toddlerthoughts, because, why not? Babies do become toddlers right?

So I did.

Because they do.

Right before I left on my second little whirl around (parts of) the world, I happily marked 1st Dec 2014 as the start of #toddlerthoughts. Excited and ready to settle in for the long haul after a few mini adventures.

And in the midst of all the excitement, I missed the point.

Babies do become toddlers, but not overnight. And babies don't take steps - not the tiny ones anyway. Toddlers are the ones taking those unsteady little totters that we gleefully declare as steps.

So now, I am learning. Learning how to take those first few unsteady little steps, learning that toddlers aren't quite capable of the act of thinking. Learning to recognise that this whole episode wasn't a mistake, nor the right place, but that it was merely a time when God so lovingly watched over me like a father watches his excited and curious baby.

I figure, I have tried, many times in this last year, to taste my toes and maybe a pencil or two. Gurgling with amusement at whatever caught my fancy, whimpering when i needed a little reassurance, muttering unintelligible strings of sounds that made sense to me and me alone, and releasing an all-out bawl if i was hungry or if i bumped my tiny head against the table.

So I have grown. Not by my own efforts, but by the patient nurturing God has provided me with. I have gained strength in my chubby arms and legs, nutrients in my round little tummy, and a tad bit more experiential knowledge about this strange world we live in - gravity can hurt!

And now, it might be the start of a time when I have learnt to recognise my Father's voice, and to understand the simplest of words that He uses. I can stand - unsteadily - on my own two feet, but if I want to stay on those wobbly feet, then I need to hold on to that hand that will guide me down the path. Knowing that, one day, these same feet will race with men and run with horses and stumble in safe land and walk amongst the thickets, but that today, i am learning to take steady steps, tottering no more, walking upright with God.

The invite has been given, and its a long walk ahead. (Leaving aside the analogy of a toddler who runs ahead, trips and tumbles headfirst into some thorny bush - because that will definitely happen. I was not a very smart baby, I don't expect to be a very obedient toddler. But not today. Today, I'm happy to be tottering alongside my Father.)