The "Y" Stick

Yesterday afternoon was the end of the year BBQ for Julien school. Makayla and I wandered around a crowd of kids, looking for two toe heads. Matthew and Michael were found in the throws of boyhood. One was in line waiting to play tennis, while the other was racing up and down the slide with a group of friends. "Hey Mom," was the dialogue exchange. Neither one of them noticed us much.

It was fun to sit back and watch them in their element. I was on their turf, and there was so much that God was teaching me through my own children yesterday. Matthew, being so analytical, thought about what he would do first - who he would talk to and what he would choose to play. Michael on the other hand flew by the seat of his pants, and went after whatever seemed most fun at the moment. They are so different, and yet so much the same. A mix of me in there, and some of Mark too. It is amazing really.

After hanging out for a while, I decided to take care of one more errand before it was time to pick the boys up. Hand in hand, Makayla and I meandered back to the van. Being curious and very talkative, she narrated the whole way.

"Look Mom, there is the swing you said you would take me on. What time do we have to pick up the boys? What are we going to do when we get home? How did God make the sky?"

Then, it happened.

"Look Mommy, a stick in the shape of a "Y".

I'll be darned, it was a stick in the shape of a Y. God got my attention immediately, and His whisper sounded something like this . . .

"I know that you have been hurting, and there are so many things that you don't understand right now. You may not have even spoken this prayer, but I've heard your heart, and your silent cry wanting to know, 'WHY?'"

"The reason for this season is not for you to know. The circumstances swinging out of your control, and the people who are causing you pain . . . this is all designed to build something in you. You feel alone, but you're not. I am with you, and I used a simple tree branch to remind you."

Suddenly, the whys floating around in my head disappeared behind the branch I held in my hand.

Ladies, we all have "Whys" in our lives. Tragedy, silence, broken relationships, illness and death - all of these can feel so heavy as we long for closure and healing. God reminded me that every bird who ever perched itself up on my "Y" branch was not concerned with the "Whys". The truth is, we don't have to be either.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ~ Matthew 6:26

I decided to save that silly stick. It sits in my office, with hundred of other little trinkets God has brough as reminders of His careful watch.

Are you in a season of uncertainty or pain? I want to encourage you and tell you that there is a watchful eye of LOVE behind all of your "Whys".