Lessons From a Container of Sand

 "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!  I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!"

                     Psalm 139:17-18

    We are just coming off of spring break with the girls and almost a full week away at the beach thanks to the kindness of friends.  There is something about being at the shore, near water, looking at the majesty of God and the ocean waves that bring a sense of peace.  While we were there we collected a container of sand to bring home for Lydia's 5th-grade assignment to create a model of the ocean floor.  A small container of sand did not even make a dent in the beach, and no one would notice this measly amount of sand missing.  The scripture above from the book of Psalms tells us that God's thoughts about us outnumber the grains of sand, so much more than this small container of sand brought home from the beach (although I guarantee I couldn't count the grains of sand within it).  This amount is uncountable, unfathomable really, and I am amazed to think that God thinks about me this much.  Yet as a parent, my mind dwells on my kids, how they are doing, what they need, sweet memories, precious moments, and current struggles.  I hope for their future, I contemplate their problems, I worry and try not to worry, I dream of when they are all grown-up all the while wishing they would stay small.  So why then doubt that my Heavenly Father ever stops thinking about me?

    Because of these truths, I know that God thinks about Katie.  He thinks about her more than I do!  He knows everything about her because a little earlier in that same passage the psalmist says in verse 16, 

"You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."  

God knew Katie before she was born.  He knew her life would not be an easy road to travel, and He knew He would open our hearts to seek her as our daughter.  God sees her now in these moments when I cannot because it is too soon for an update from the orphanage and travel to China is still not allowed.  He sees my thoughts of her, when they are hopeful and faith-filled and when they are doubting and afraid.  And He always finds a way to encourage me in moments of weakness with gentle reminders like a container of sand that whispers to me, "My thoughts of Katie are precious and they outnumber these grains."  

    Today my house is quiet since the kids are back to school, and my thoughts are captivated by Katie.  I hope one day she will read my words and know about a loving Father that knew her before she was born, that prepared a family, a home, and hearts, and that before she ever knew me my thoughts of her were so numerous they couldn't be counted like the grains of sand captured within this container.  



    

    

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