Shade for a toddler

Psalm 121 on the playground

Yesterday I took my daughter to the playground. She’s barely walking, so she holds my hand as she stumbles over the wood chips to reach out for her favorite pieces of equipment to cling to. I think of Psalm 121:3–  He will not let your foot slip. 

Is that what God does for me? He’s like a parent holding the hand of a toddler, slowly moving beside me as he anticipates my poorly calculated steps. 

It’s already hot and sunny in Texas. I forgot the sunscreen, and I definitely don’t want her soft skin to get burned. When she’s not under the shade canopy of the playground, I instinctively move my body to block the sun from hitting her. Every time she takes a step or turns, I’m right there too, moving around her to keep her in my shadow. 

The Lord watches over you—

    the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 

I see it now. God’s not just out there somewhere watching me from a distance. There’s no place I could stumble, no direction I could turn, that he wouldn’t be right there covering me with his own body. 

Now it’s morning and she’s about to wake up, so I need to wrap this up. That’s another thing: he who watches over you will not slumber. That verse is where the parent/toddler analogy breaks down, and I’m so grateful! God is not dividing his resources between himself and me like a bleary-eyed parent begging the child to go back to sleep so he can also get some rest. He’s unlimited. He gives me all of himself, every minute. 

That’s what I’ve been chewing on this week. See you on the playground!

(Photo by Oakville News on Unsplash)