A couple of weeks ago I was at the beach. The tide was coming in and the water was becoming rough. I observed a father and his young son nearby. The son was sitting in a kid's floation device in the shape of a turtle. I saw through the father, how God treats us. He enjoyed playing with his son and held on to the floation device to make the little boy comfortable. When a wave came, he held either lifted him above the wave or held on to the floation device so that his child would not topple.
When the water was calm, he let his son float for a bit, without the child knowing that he let go of the turtle, but watched him carefully, never looking away from his son. The little boy would see the waves coming from far out. He would scream loudly for his father at the sight of it. His father would laugh, hold on to him, repeating the pattern of lifting him up or riding the wave with him. In all of this time, the father might have allowed his child to get splashed, but never let him be in danger or harm.
After some time, the currents became much stronger and the waves were becoming larger. He wisely picked up his son and moved him to another area that was more suitable for him. The child thought they were leaving the beach and began to scream and flail his arms and legs. He didn't want to leave and did not know that he was being placed in a safer place.
I thought about this memory often in the past 2 weeks and marveled at how clearly the boy depicts us and the father depicts how God sees us, takes care of us, loves us and moves us for our own good. Even the floation device has meaning. God never sends us out unequipped for the day. He always equips us with what we need.
