Most mornings my littlest comes up to me with her shoes, laid at the sides of her feet, and looks up and me and asks, “Mama, is this the wrong way?”
And there’s so much to think about in this question, isn’t there? I mean, first of all, she’s cute as can be, and no matter how irritated I am that we’re still not ready to go out the door to start the day, I pause and consider it for her. She’s getting it right more often, but still has them reversed sometimes, and so I tell her to switch them, and she proceeds confidently to do so, and goes on her merry way.
Perhaps we wish we could have the same kind of life moment? When we could ask more directly and get that direct answer—is this the wrong way?—so that we might feel a little more secure, a little more assured that God heard the question. God hears us, of course, and most of us know by now that we often do not get the answer we’re expecting. In fact, at least speaking for myself, I find myself more often grappling with the answer and what it means to me. There are times, though, where I can see clearly which is the wrong and which is the right way, in spite of the world’s cacophony of answers, in spite of the press of wrong coming in at us from all sides lately.
My meditation this morning comes in the realization that all around me I have friends working for the good, and bringing that into the world, combating the wrong—each of us in our own uniquely, even small ways. And I am so glad that I have you to ask the questions sometimes, to see the guidance that shows us God working through each other, a community of believers in the good, a cloud of witnesses. This week I am so grateful for you all, and wish you the best, wish you the secure knowing that your hopes and your work, whatever you give, is something to be thankful for, something that will offer you the answers you need when you’re wondering and wandering about your way.