Out of Reach
This is a picture of my two-year-old finding a creative way to reach the candy dish (we clearly need a new hiding spot!). As her parents, Brent and I might know thing or two that our little persistent princess has yet to realize:
The candy she wants so badly may seem innocent in small doses, but mass quantities are not good for her and we know she won’t just stop at one!
Sweet treats are just too tempting for her if they’re within easy reach.
Even though she doesn’t always take kindly to our advice and tries to circumvent our direction (often in ways that won’t end well if left to her own devices!), we love her too much to let her continue to make poor decisions.
We are never far from where she is, always keeping a caring and watchful eye on her.
While the act of gently taking her off of that chair and placing her back on the ground made our little one incredibly upset and frustrated, what she didn’t realize was that we saved her from something far worse and created a way for her to better enjoy that candy later when the timing is right.
So many times, especially over these past few years, I’ve felt as though the things I want (or want to be able to do) seem out of reach. I can see them so clearly, I can feel the desire for them welling up inside of me, I stand on my tiptoes and reach my arms out as far as they’ll go, but all is in vain. These dreams, these longings, these things I thought for sure were meant for me are simply out of reach and it’s incredibly hard to accept.
These things I desire, they are usually good things and they typically come with good intentions. In my limited outlook, the vision for my life would appear so much brighter if these elements could just come within my grasp. Yet sometimes they don’t and I don’t understand why. I get frustrated, bitter, impatient. I start trying to find unnatural ways to climb to the height of my wishes, only to be set back down by my Creator. I huff, I cry, I throw my adult tantrum. I ruminate on how unfair my circumstances seem and often feel overcome with jealousy and anger.
But, at some point in my ‘time out,’ I begin to feel the soft tug of The Holy Spirit on my heart. As I finally quit stomping my feet and start reflecting on God’s grace, I begin to realize that these circumstances are for my protection and my benefit. The Lord knows me so much deeper than I know myself. I think I can handle things that he knows I can’t, I think I can withstand things that he knows will harm me, I think I’m able to resist things that he knows I won’t, I think I know what’s best for my life when he knows what’s even better.
Sometimes his parameters involve a hard ‘no’ and I need to accept this and totally redirect. Sometimes the plan simply involves a waiting period to allow a season of growth that will produce enough spiritual maturity to handle a situation that would have otherwise gone awry. Either way, I need to stop stacking up proverbial furniture and start trusting that his ways are higher and grounded in love.
God gives us his assurance in Isaiah 55:9-
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Take heart in your circumstances, friends. They may not be easy, they may not include your dreams right now, they may not fit the ideal mental picture you’ve painted for your life, they may even be the exact OPPOSITE of how you saw this journey turning out. They are, however, perfectly orchestrated in a way that best guides your path. Pray for wisdom, study God’s Word, seek the guidance of those you know to be solid in their faith, and have unwavering confidence in the truth that your Heavenly Father only wants what’s best for his children. He loves us too much to allow us to navigate our paths with our limited knowledge of the grander plan. And, in true parent fashion, he is never, ever far from where we are!