Monday, May 30, 2016

What I Cannot See

A man in our church family has been very ill recently. That has required many stays in local hospitals. I've visited him several times, mostly recently at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock.

Baptist is going through a lengthy and dramatic renovation. The most dramatic part is listening to people complain about the extra they have to walk to get into the building. It really is a mess. The main entrance is closed. The entrance all traffic is funneled through now is a good ways away. But the worst part is the path getting to the elevators once you are inside the building.

The elevators are conveniently located near the MAIN entrance…which is closed. After winding through rooms and corridors most of us never knew existed you'll find yourself standing before the familiar elevators; but you'll be complaining in dramatic fashion.

I'm smarter than the average bear so after a couple of trips through the temporary entrance I began parking in the parking deck. From there you enter the building via an elevated walkway into the second floor. Elevators or stairs are handy. I'm not sure it's a shorter journey but at least I CAN ENTER LIKE I'M SUPPOSED TO! No construction mess. No drama.

Last week I went to visit Jerry and was walking through the elevated walkway behind a young man and his two children. The kids looked like they may have been about 6 (boy) and 4 (girl). Maybe they were going to visit their mother and new baby sibling! They looked excited when they first entered the walkway.

Then they noticed that they were walking on air. Looking out the windows of the walkway they could see nothing except nothing all the way down to the street twenty feet below. The little boy walked near the windows a look up and down and all around.

The little girl walked right down the middle of the walkway looking at her feet.

Once we crossed the street below the walkway rests atop a one-level section of the hospital. The little boy announced, "Hey, we're walking on the roof!"

That was the best news the little girl had heard since Daddy told her about the new baby. She went straight to the edge and began looking around. A little skipping dance appeared in her gait.

She was safe now because she could see that the walkway was resting on something.

So I began to think about my life as a follower of Jesus. Sometimes I can't see or feel what is supporting me. It's like I'm suspended in midair and could fall at any moment.

Have you ever felt like that? You may feel like you are all alone or like everything is crumbling around you. You can't find anybody who cares enough to be there for you.

The Bible tells me that Jesus is always with us and will never leave us. Do you believe that? It's true and you can place all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

It's a matter of trust. Trust is easier when you look out the window and see safety and security. But trust is still possible when you can't see what or who is holding you. But trust that Jesus is holding you.

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