REFLECTIONS
October 30, 2011               
 
 
As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua 1:5
 
 
Runaway Child
 
That tricycle was the most important outdoor toy and there was a great place to ride it. The sidewalk in front of our house went from one end of the block to the other, so up and down I rode day after day. But there was another important thing in my life. It was our family friend, Ella.
Ella taught in a school nearby, so she would drop by frequently to pay us a visit. I think she loved me as much as I loved her. One day after one of her visits, my three-year-old mind decided to go to the school to find her; so I mounted my tricycle and off I went.
Now my memory does not recall all that took place. I remember the tricycle only from old snapshots, and the story of the runaway child I became is recalled only from the accounts told to me by adults who were there. But the story is instilled in my mind as if it were my own memory.
I’m told that an all out search for me ensured, but the town was small and the distance to the school was short, so the search must have ended quickly. However, the idea of running away did not die so easily. There were other times when I wanted to runaway. I even threatened to do so. But my dad always gave me a dose of reality with the questions, “Where will you go?” and, “Who will take care of you?” It was his way to tell me that before we run away from something, we need a place to run to.
There are still times today when I would like to run away. The pressures of the daily grind, confessing to errors I have made, or unavoidable trials that come with life in this world, all provide reasons for a desire to escape. But where will I go; and who will take care of me?
Those questions were far from my mind when I mounted my tricycle and struck out to find Ella that day. But looking back on it now, I realize that I was really not running away from anything; but I was running to something. I loved Ella and she loved me back. When I found her, she would take care of me.
We all face times that make us want to run away from our troubles. But we need a place to run to—someone we love and who loves us back even more. The Lord Jesus is the one. When we find him, He will take care of us. It’s a promise He made.
And He has never broken one.
 
You are the light of the world,
RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org.


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