DO YOU TRUST ME?

Do You Trust Me?

by Karissa Guevara

I have a guest blogger today. Karissa has allowed me to publish a story she put on her Facebook. It is an awesome story of trust.

“Jeremy, let’s get ready to go!” I tell my four-year-old son.

“Where?” He answers, looking concerned.

“You know what, Buddy? Just trust me and start getting dressed, OK?” He starts moving, slowly, considering preparing for this outing to who-knows-where.

“Mom, are we going to the park?”

“Jeremy…”

“Not to the store, right?”

“Buddy…”

“We’re not going to walk, right? Can we go in the car? Are Daddy and Lizzie and Baby Cristina coming too?” By now his concern with the specifics has totally stopped him in his tracks and the process of actually getting ready has long been forgotten.

“Jeremy, what did I ask you to do?” I remind him.

“To get ready to go,” he answers.

“Do you trust me, Jeremy?”

“Yes.”

“OK, then trust that I will take you someplace good and probably fun, and you don’t have to worry now. Just obey and do what I asked, OK?”

“OK, Mommy,” he answers, though I can see in his face that he’s still not sure about preparing to go to this unknown destination.

This is not the first time we’ve had this type of conversation, about going somewhere, about cleaning up, about what is next on the agenda for the day…. Sometimes I do give him specifics of what we’re doing and other times he’s fine with not knowing. But I could tell that with the energy level he has today, if I had told him right away which park we were going to, the excitement would have taken away his focus even more from the getting-ready stage.

Ugh! Why can’t he just trust me that our destination and the details of our going-out will be good, that I know what he likes and doesn’t like, what he needs and doesn’t need, and that in the end I have his best in mind?

As I ponder the frustration of convincing a four-year-old of my good intentions and trustworthiness as his mother, I hear a different voice:

“Karissa, follow Me.”

“Where to, God?”

“You don’t need to know the where right now, just take the next step of obedience in this specific situation.”

“But I don’t see what it looks like further down the road if I go this way… I haven’t carefully considered all the pros and cons yet…and we all know that’s the responsible thing to do, Lord! I need to think things through well to make sure this way gets the results we need…”

“Karissa, what have I asked you to do with your kids?”

“Um, let’s see: to love them, to teach them in the ways I am able according to how you’ve gifted me, to correct and discipline them in love and consistency, to enjoy each day with them…”

“OK then…”

“Right, but so many times I’m not sure about the specific methods we’re using, if we’re doing things OK, if the kids are learning and growing the way they should be…”

“Whether the method chosen is the perfect one for your kids isn’t the root of your problem right now.”

“Well, what is my problem, then?”

“Lack of trust in Me.”

“What?? No!! I trust You completely, with all of our lives, and I tell You that on a regular basis!”

“Yes, you do say that, but if you truly believe it, then live it out by giving your worries and concerns over to Me each moment rather than trying to figure out the perfect child-raising formula and a fail-proof teaching strategy.

Stop stressing about getting the future completely figured out and instead use that energy to love your kids today in the best way you can, whether or not they respond the way they should or the way you want them to, and whether or not everything gets checked off of your to-do list for the day.

And leave the results up to Me.”

“I want to trust You to that level, I really do want to do that…but I don’t know how to live each day without having a plan, without considering the options, without aiming for a goal and strategizing how to get there!”

“Karissa, none of those things are bad in and of themselves; I’ve created you to be a deep thinker. But…”

“But what, Lord?”

“If the thinking and planning is causing you to become anxious and stress, then you’re not really trusting Me with the outcome. And, just like your 4-year-old, you allow yourself to get so absorbed by the details of what’s to come that you get distracted from the current step of obedience I’ve asked you to take.”

So, here is my New Year’s Resolution:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB)