Making Jesus Smile

Today, my little 2 year old man prayed to Jesus all by himself for the first time. He closed his eyes tightly, folded his hands and asked Jesus to keep him safe, bless Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Papa and his cousins (which he carefully named) then he prayed for his dog, his teddy bear and then said, "In Jesus name, amen." As he finished I had the definite impression that Jesus was standing next to my son and just beaming from ear to ear. How sweet, like honey on the lips, must those first words uttered in child-like faith sound to Christ. I think that of all the prayers to come, of all the well spoken utterences, none would sound as sweet. My prayer is that Kyle would know Christ early and that he will seek after Him as he makes his way through this life.
"In Jesus name, amen."

Directionally Challenged

So many times throughout this long journey I have found myself standing squarely in the center of a crossroad. Sometimes, choosing the right way is clear. Sometimes, the road in all directions is muddy, crooked, overgrown with weeds, full of potholes and littered with boulders and I am utterly confused. Do I turn left? do I turn right? do I go straight? do I run back the way I came? Mostly, if I wait paitently, prayerfully and with faith, God places His hands ever so lightly on my shoulders and gives me a slight nudge in the right direction. But sometimes, there is no nudge, no whisper, no light touch of a divine hand. There is only silence as the dust blows around me and impedes my view. Tonight I stand in this dusty place and I don't know what to do. The most frustrating thing is that I'm sure I've been here before. But how can that be? If I was here before, then I must have moved on since, by reason, I'm here again. So which way did I turn last time? Was it wrong? Is that why I've circled back? Did I repeat a mistake? Was I disobedient and so God has allowed me to walk in a huge circle so I can get it right this time? How do we ever really know that we're going the right way when we are faced with a difficult choice? I don't think I'm the first Pilgrim to ask this question. As a matter of fact, I know I'm not. But oh, how I wish the way would straighten out again. I wish that I could write that I can finally see where I'm going, the turrets of the castle are in sight. I see the flag waving, and the sounds of the fanfare drift over the last few miles and urge me on home. I long to rest beside those promised quiet waters. I want so much to lay down in those luscious green pastures. Ahh. But the Valley still lays stretched out before me and so, I will lift one foot up and place it down in front of the other and I will smile and have hope and continue on until I have learned everything God wants for me to learn and perhaps, sooner than later, the dust will settle, the valley will open up and there before me I shall see my home sweet home.