Stepping Stones Not So Scary After All

 'The three little girls'. That's what we were called in our family of eleven. Because we were at the end of the line, the youngest, and often dubbed 'spoiled rotten' too. Families are endearing in this way, I suppose.

 'The three little girls' never minded the title and found endless amounts of diversion and entertainment of our own and without the help of the older six. One being the Main Creek that ran through the south end of the woods and farmland of our home in Tony, Wisconsin.

Main Creek was a small tributary on the Flambeau River System. The water fluctuation, from spring time thaws, made it a raging river most years, but by end of summer we could often find a way to play a little game we invented. We didn't give this game a name but it involved trying to cross the creek and not getting our feet wet by usage of stepping stones. It was a game we all knew how to play without rules or direction; the creek gave its own rules as you will see. 

 Even now, I can almost feel the water on my feet and hear our shrieks of joy as we navigated the trickle as it flowed between the rocks. The dry rocks were safe options to choose, but the wet and shiny rocks gave a warning of slippery to the wise, for slime and green moss attached itself to the otherwise innocent looking stepping stone. If you happened to slide into the shallow water you had a very good chance of stepping out with a leech enjoying his slimy little worm like invertebrate self; sucking blood out of your skin, usually between your toes.

I've been thinking about that lately...if only life would give small warnings without  the rules of the game having to be spelled out, without naming the consequence of a bad choice but having the wisdom to know it by the way it behaves in the end...to be able to sense better what is a slimy, slippery rock and which step is surety and safety. And then, the Psalms this morning said it plainly...

Psalm 85:11-13

Faithfulness springs forth from the earth and righteousness looks down from the heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good. and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way of his steps. NIV 

Faithfulness is humans committed to God and His kingdom...it shows up every season we have the faith in which we plant the seed and nurture it and bring it to fruition through our faithful work. Righteousness is God's part. While God is also faithful, He is the only One who is truly righteous. He looks down from the heaven and sees all. He sees every step we take, have taken, and will take. When we are faithful to Him, we can count on it that what the land yields will be the goodness of God to us and for us... (Rom 8:28)

Righteousness goes before him...Almighty God goes before me, and prepares the way of my steps. How amazing is that? God preparing the way, like a guide through thick forest, making sure I don't get whapped with a wet tree branch or fall into a hole. God sees exactly my steps. Why not trust Him with all of mine?