Growing up as a PK (preacher’s kid) had advantages. The Yeagley boys were showered with warm gestures and kindness. We were given an old erector set. A stamp collection. Brand new bike parts to restore an old beater. Memorable lunch invitations after church. And colorful personalities still remembered.
Connecticut and Massachusetts fed our love for winter. Sledding down massive hills that mysteriously shrank as we aged. Ice skating on Fort Meadow Reservoir. Playing ice hockey on the swampy pond out back of the school in Hudson. Snowmobiling with my friend Jack. Building snow forts. When the sun came out after a blizzard, it was almost depressing!
But perhaps the experience that topped them all was an older church member with the heart of a kid. One cold winter afternoon when the world and water were frozen hard, we were invited to his farm. Bundled up like Nanook of the North, we headed out for an unknown adventure.
We trudged to his pond where an old car sat safely on the thick ice. Chained to the back of the car was a wooden pallet. We climbed onto the pallet and with instructions to “hang on,” our church friend began to do donuts on the smooth ice. We hollered, laughed, and hung on for dear life.
Until . . . we’d lose our grip. We instantly turned into hockey pucks — shooting across the ice and piling into the snowy pond bank. We’d load back onto the pallet and repeat the hilarity.
When you’re having fun, though, you really don’t want to admit that the fun is wearing thin. In the days before concussion protocols, I remember flying off the pallet and slamming my head into the ice more than once. I needed help, but wasn’t willing to admit it.
My dad noticed.
Ever wonder if God notices? Have you ever doubted that God sees the pain and predicament you’re in?
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:1-4
24-7-365
God is watching. God knows. He cares. He sees His children.
After several head-bangers, my dad instructed me to ride in the car with our church friend. To this day I remember the feeling of being inside that car. Warm. Safe. Relaxed.
The second verse of the old hymn “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” says, “Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe from corroding care, safe from the world’s temptations, sin cannot harm me there.”
I love Eugene Peterson’s spin on Psalm 91 — “God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe! That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you—under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you.”
The next time life is spinning out of control and you’re barely hanging on for dear life, accept God’s invitation to get into His car. It’s warm. It’s safe. And you can trust the Driver.