He's Got This

A chilly, freshly laundered shirt rests damp in my hand, as I pause and pay attention to the world outside my airy balcony. 

Twittering birds soar amongst our neighborhood assortment of squarish apartment buildings. The morning air is cool and fresh, the sky a heart-melting puffy blue. 

The fine dust that usually has its hands in everything is subdued under the influence of a recent rain, and neighborhood trash floats peacefully in a large pond-of-a puddle that still looks to me like a foreign guest in our desert town. Robed men walk briskly down the street, their skirts shuffling. Children in coats scamper and play in the vacant lot across from us. Colored laundry decorates neighborhood window grates, tucked in-between the bars and waiting for a good piece of warmth and sunshine to come along. I sling the wet shirt over a plastic line and position the arms for drying. Yes, this is a beautiful place in which to enter the 2020s. 

Awakened to the present as I am, the question arises: Since we are about to enter a new numerical decade, I wonder where I was at a decade ago? Flipping backwards through the mental pages of my life until I reach 2009-2010, I stare in memory at the teenager sitting on her bed, looking out the window. What were her dreams? What did she long for? A line from one of my favorite poems back then can tell you some of my sentiment:

“If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back;

'Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;

And if, perchance, Faith's light is dim, because the oil is low,

Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go….”

- Quoted in Streams In The Desert devotional

I remember how I often longed to hear those who had gone even a little ahead of me, calling back to me with words of reassurance and hope. Actually, I still find myself longing to hear from those farther down the path, who’ve been pilgriming longer than I. “’Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track!”

But today, I want to “call back” to any who are behind me on the path. 

Mainly, I want to say, trusting Jesus is safe.

At the beginning of this decade, my thoughts first started to turn to this part of the world. I dreamed of what the future could hold; yet in the present moments I had no idea what decisions to make, agonizing over so many possibilities. Do I go here, there, or anywhere? How will I know for sure which guy to marry? How will I have enough money for the step I feel I’m to take? And what will I do after that?

Hindsight seems to be a gift you can only receive by faithfully taking one day at a time. Looking back from here, I can see the artful choreography of a Master Artisan as I recall each monumental event and experience that led me up to the part of the pilgrimage I find myself on today. It all fits together like a 3,652-piece jigsaw puzzle. The dark merging into the light with that piece; the jagged rocks beside the flower, with those six pieces that connect the mountain with the valley. How did I know the right one to marry? How did I know which steps to take? The truth is, I didn’t know. I was blind, yet led by the hand of Someone I could not see, but trusted was very, very close. And He was.

If you are earnestly desiring to be close to Jesus, desiring His will, and wanting to glorify Him with your life, He can take care of the journey. Set your heart on pilgrimage with Him. (See Psalm 84:5, NKJV) The journey most likely won’t look like you expected (from my experience) but you don’t want to be the one in charge. There is so much you don’t know, that He does know. Letting Jesus take the lead is worth it. He knows what He’s doing, where He’s going, and how to get you there.

I ended this last decade by moving to the place where we are now. In a sense, I started a pilgrimage leading me here, ten years ago; and now, as we begin a new decade, I'm starting a new pilgrimage in a new land. There is so much I don’t know; so many unknowns and there will doubtless be countless joys, sorrows, troubles and delights in the next decade if Jesus doesn’t come back before then. 

However, my heart is quieted as I think back over God’s faithfulness to me. He has walked with me through seasons of darkness as well as seasons of light. He’s walked with me in ecstasy and sorrow. I haven’t always felt His presence or understood what He’s doing; indeed, there are still great mysteries I carry in my journey with Him. 

But if you are longing for some reassurance as you look into a new decade, I want to be one to say, Lift up your head, don’t be cast down in your soul. There is One who is walking with you, who knows the path and the destination, and He’s got this. He can handle your successes as well as your failures. He can handle your mistakes and cheers you in your successes. He can handle your pain, and He does give joy. Trust Him with the journey, and let Him lead the way. With me. I need to be reminded of these things as well.

The balcony is calling me to come and watch and listen again. The laundry is calling, too. I am praying for you today, that in the ordinary moments, you will also be awake to find the hand of God.

This was written specifically for those who were on teams that we led. If you are ahead of me on my journey, I look forward to hearing you calling back to me of God’s faithfulness and persistent love.