Today I watched a friend of ours push his little girl on a swing. She was secured inside those bucket type swings with holes for their legs. Her dad would pull the swing up to him and hold it in the air while she anticipated him letting go. Once he let go, she’d say something adorable through her smiles like, “I-Swinging!!”. Whenever Stephen or I tried to give her a push so that she wouldn’t loose momentum, she would say, “No! Off!” or “Daddy! Daddy!” While my heart broke a little at being rejected (only kidding), I thought her trust in her Daddy was adorable and I sort of envied her faith in him. As long as her Daddy was around, she was very secure and content. She trusted that when He let go, that His hands would be there to keep pushing her on that swing.

Sometimes I try to take things into my own hands. I don’t like being out of my comfort zone and when God pulls me out from those securities, I often freeze. I’m like my friend’s daughter up high in the air, not really sure what will happen next. I don’t want my Father letting go because of all the “what ifs” and the “fear of the unknown”. Yet it’s often in the letting go, that I gain momentum from what He’s doing in my life to soar in a new strength. He never leaves my side and is there for the continual push in the right direction as I need it, but He doesn’t hold me with a tight fist. Instead He empowers me to walk out what He’s placed in me. He lets go and watches my life. He sees the joy that comes over my face and the safety I feel of being found in His grace.

Life with Him is a little bit like a swing. Up and down, up and down in the rhythms of grace. Sometimes we’re going really high and fast and love the thrill, and other times we’ve kicked our feet on the ground and need a gentle push to get going again. Whatever season we find ourselves in, when we call on His name, He’s there to intervene and lift us back up again.