June 2, 2007
“Giver of Strength”
“It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.” Psalm 18:32 KJV
At the daycare where I work, there is a little boy that has inadvertently helped me in my spiritual walk. I love this child. He is two years old, generally dirty, and BAD. (I say that with all the love in my heart.J) But one day, it was precisely that disobedience that shook me up and taught me a lesson.
First off, let me explain that I have always had this weird fear of death. Even though I know where I am going, it is death itself that I fear. It has always caused me to doubt myself. I have heard stories of people doing brave deeds, risking their own life, and wondered if I could do the same. I feared I couldn’t. “God will give you the strength’, I always heard. “You don’t even think about,” said others. I doubted the truth of both statements. God had to show me Himself.
One day, as my band of 2-year-olds and I were leaving the playground, this little boy broke from the line and took off across the parking lot. Our parking lot opens onto a very busy road with speeding cars. My heart started racing. I was next to an SUV and couldn’t see around the corner. What if someone was pulling into the parking lot? They’d never see him! I dropped the basket I was carrying, called to the other children to stay put, and ran after him. God truly did give me the strength that day. Somehow, I caught up with him in three seconds. I scooped him up and ran to the side of the road, not sure whether to cry or scream at him.
Shaking now, I plopped him in the line, maintaining a firm grip on his hand. My supervisor had seen the whole thing and was as scared as I was. I stammered that I would come back for the basket of extra things. I just wanted to get him inside, and safe. She understood and carried the basket herself.
Once we were inside, I woodenly continued what needed to be done, my heart still pounding from the adrenaline rush. My supervisor assured me that she would talk to his parents about it. I pushed it from my mind, knowing I had to keep going. There was no time to collapse and/or cry now.
That night, as I lay in my bed, shaking and on the verge of tears, I was struck by a new realization. I had run into that street not knowing if something was coming straight at me or not. I hadn’t thought about it, and God had given me the strength to do it. It had not been myself I doubted, but God. I was ashamed and grateful at the same time. How stupid I had been! I had assumed that just because I didn’t have the strength when I was thinking about it, God couldn’t give me the strength when I truly needed it. It really was that He saves it for when you need it.
© 2007 by Elizabeth A. Wright. All rights reserved.
Bio: Elizabeth Wright was homeschooled from Kindergarten through 12th grade and is now taking the Apprentice course from the Christian Writers Guild. She works in a daycare, is active in her church, and enjoys her five little brothers and two dogs.
