"Are you sure you know where we're going?"

I've loved little kids for a long time now. Because they are hilarious, they have the simplest view on things, and they are entirely straightforward. And it's really hard to not look at a kid and just smile at them.
So over the past couple of years, I've done some babysitting for friends.
And there is this one memory that I have from one of those times, that sticks with me. I'll randomly remember it sometimes and smile at the thought.
I was watching two little boys one summer evening at our house, and we were running out of things to do.
We'd played tag, "soccer", "baseball", clucked at the chickens (we have chickens),  and I think we'd played some kind of Buzz Lightyear something. I wasn't tired, but I was running out of ideas.
After another game of tag, we decided to go on a walk. Since we live in PA, there's a lot of fields and cows. We live directly across from a field, full of cows. We decided to visit them. So we walked down the road for a little while, and soon, we couldn't see my house anymore. One of the little boys realized this and started to question me about where we were. He didn't recognize it. He said "Are you Sure you know where we're going?" and I said "Yes, I am very sure" with that having been said, he reached for my hand, and was okay.

A few minutes later we came upon the road where I always turn, to go around the block. It takes you right back to our house if you just walk around the curve, and then go back down the hill. But the boys didn't know that. Again, my skeptical little friend looked up at me with big eyes and asked "Are you really sure you know where we're going?" And again, I assured him that yes, I did. And that we would soon be back at my house. He was still a little unsure, but as we took the turn, he followed along, holding my hand a bit more firmly than before.
We walked up the hill and around the curve. Again. "You really know where we're going?" he asked.
Again, I replied. "Yes, bud, I do.. we're going to go down that hill, and we'll be back at my house"
So we continued.
We finally came down the hill, back into "familiar" territory. And my little pal said. "Oh, we're back at your house! You did know where we were! ..I wasn't so sure"

This, my friends, is exactly what I do to God all the time. I'm like the skeptical little kid, and He's the one leading me through life. He's the one who knows which turns to take, and all the "unfamiliar territory" is completely familiar to Him. But sometimes it's really hard to just trust Him, because I don't recognize everything around me. Things are changing like mad right now, and sometimes I just have no idea what is going on anymore.

But you know what? My little friend didn't stop following where I took him. He trusted that I would get him safely back to my house. He questioned, but he followed.
He probably realized somewhere in the back of his mind, that if he left me at that point and tried to find his way back, he could end up lost and alone.
If I were to stop trusting where God is leading me, and run away, trying to find my way to comfort and familiarity... it wouldn't work. I'd just be helpless and alone, and most likely, confused.

When I think about it that way, it's kind of like "Why would I do that????"
Exactly.

The bible says to have a child-like faith, trusting and true. Now, every time I think of that walk, I am reminded of this.
Who would have thought? Growing up and realizing, that in some ways, you knew more when you were really, really, young than you do now.

I just hope and pray that I will be able to follow along where He leads. Around the corners and going down streets I'm unsure of. But holding His hand all the way... and holding onto it more firmly when I get really, really, nervous or scared or confused or all of the above.

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" Jeremiah 32:27
Is any road too confusing, for Him?

Chels