Please forgive the random posts and the fast that hey days are out of order. I had an unexpected hospital stay. Here is an update. Cherish your prayers for continued healing.

Many years have passed since I witnessed this admittedly ordinary moment, yet every so often, it comes to mind once again.

I scurried outside on a cold and blustery winter’s day in West Virginia to call my husband Monty and children in for dinner. I paused before trying to get his attention as he was intently engaged with our 14 month old son.

Monty never glanced my way. His focus was set, his gaze steady, his legs planted wide. Twenty feet to my right, he leaned over, each outstretched hand firmly holding our chubby boys fingers as he practiced walking, slowly shuffling between his legs. Ryan moved forward inch by inch, step by shaky step, but even from a distance, I knew he was safe.

I have entertained a hundred questions in my mind over the last few days. Doubt, overwhelm and fear while facing the unknowns of a sudden and unexpected medical crisis. Some of my concerns have no concrete answers. But so much that is known, the very real and true evidences that speak to our good, merciful God and Heavenly Father. Neurologist. Cardiologist. Hospitalists. In the middle of the chaos and the many layers of information given to us, something subtle shifted today in my spirit in the overwhelm and emotions related to it all.

Just like that unassuming day, there wasn’t an audible voice, no burning bush, no whisper in the winter wind. But the still quiet moving of the Holy Spirit that spoke into my remembrance the following verse:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

The Message paraphrase says it this way: “Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, and keep a firm grip on you.”

Perhaps the message etched in my memory is that of a very small picture of a much larger truth from days gone by. Maybe, just maybe, it was a visual for the girl who happens to be a visual learner, a snapshot that would remain frozen in her memory, ready to be remembered just when she feels unsteady, troubled or overwhelmed.

Suffice it to say, through the years I have paid special attention to verses that talk about how we’re secure in God’s hands. Over and over again, those truths have grown deep, each one reiterating the promise of Isaiah 41.

In John 10, Jesus says that no one can snatch us from the Father’s hand.

In a moment of reflection, the writer of Psalm 73 says, “My feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold… Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.”

In Psalm 139, we’re assured that even in the deepest dark, God holds on.

Over and over, Scripture seemed to echo itself in my soul of my Heavenly Father’s promise: We are held secure. We. Are. Held. God will not let us go and never, not for a single moment, will we find ourselves walking in and through this journey alone.

We can rest assured that one thing is absolutely certain: we do not walk alone.
Emmanuel, the God who named Himself “God With Us”, created the entire universe and then, in great humility, made Himself small enough to be held in human hands.

The One who formed man from the dust of the ground became the God-man who bent down to write in the dirt, who broke bread and then broke open, arms spread wide and hands pierced even as they reached out. And even then, all the while, He was holding each and every one of us secure, perfectly keeping every promise that was made.

This IS who He IS. This IS what He DOES.

Time has ticked on, but the memory of that tiny wobbly toddler secure in Monty’s hands resurfaces on occasion. It’s still funny to me that something so ordinary, a moment that lasted no more than half a minute, continues to circle back so many years later. Even now, in the middle of my own unexpected detour, I picture myself not from a distance, but as the beloved daughter of God looking up at the beautifully scarred hands of my Heavenly Father holding mine.

In my imagination, just beyond the hands wrapped around mine, there’s a gentle smile, a little wink, and a kind voice that says, “I had you then and I hold you now. Come what may, I’ve got you.”

His gaze is steady. His grip is secure. Step by shaky step, we are held all the way home.

Never, not for one moment, will we find ourselves walking alone.

Note: I am home. Incredible care. Wrapped up in His love. We were blessed with a miraculous outcome. And EVEN IF the outcome had been different, I have known what it is to be held. God is a good, good Father rich in mercy and love.