GROWING SEEDS: "We Are Given What We Need"

There's a story about a 15 year old girl whose Mom had died.  Her Dad was a wonderful man....did everything with his daughter....ran marathons together, worked on homework and fixed meals together.  Until one day, they were jogging together and she noticed she was losing her sight.  Turned out, she had cancer in her eyes and eventually, lost her sight.

That was the day her Dad left her.

She could no longer feel his presence around her, hear his voice or know if he was even near.  She found herself forced to do everything on her own.  Simple things, like putting toothpaste on her toothbrush or mascara on her eyes.  Daily, she would yell out to the quiet, "Why have you deserted me, Dad?  "Why did you leave me?

In desperation, she put her running shoes on and ran a trail behind her house she knew by memory.  But she took a wrong turn and almost ran off a cliff.  And that was when her Dad ran to her side and stopped her before she fell.  With sadness in her voice, she asked him, "Why did you leave me?”  He held her face in his hands and said, "I never left you, Sweetheart.  I was here all the time."

The story then takes us back....back to him quietly moving obstacles out of her way without her knowing it...keeping her safe when she couldn't see him doing it.

"My daughter, you thought I left you....and as much as it pains me, you were right.  I stepped aside so you could be more courageous than you ever imagined.  I stepped aside so you could discover how beautiful you are inside and out and to challenge yourself in ways you never considered.  I stepped aside so you could discover how strong you really are."

"But I was always right here", her Father answered.  "No one believes in you more than I do.  You know that.  Think about how far you've come.  I gave you what you needed....not what you wanted."

This is the story of us, sweet friends.  I don’t mean just lake water invading a house or cancer spreading through your body, death of a loved one or broken hips or broken friendships. This is about our daily lives and specifically, my life these past few years.  If you haven't stood at the edge of a cliff at some point, I guarantee you will.  Sometimes, God has to step back so we can get stronger, so we can learn to trust....and realize how courageous and strong we can be whengiven what we need...not what we want.