July 10, 2016
Dear Emily,
We just returned on Friday from five days
together at the beach. Early last
Sunday morning, eight of us piled into Uncle Robert’s car and your daddy’s
truck and headed for Orange Beach where we relaxed in the sun, played in the
surf, and splashed in the pool.
You spent most of your time at the pool because you don’t like the grit
of the sand in your toes or the spray of the ocean water in your eyes. The adults rotated between the pool and
the beach so that everybody could enjoy the time – the pool and the beach.
You like the water - you just don’t
like the water in your eyes. When
I reminded you that last year you were swimming with your head under water, you
declared that underwater swimming definitely would not be happening this year! You were determined not to get your face
wet! That was on Day One.
But familiarity and experience have a way of bolstering confidence and
changing attitudes- - especially when you trust BB! By the end of
Day Two, you were jumping off the steps, willing to get a little water on your
face. By Day Three you were again
swimming with your head under water, jumping and diving off the side of the
pool. Each time I pulled you to the surface. Day Four was the highlight day!! Not only were you running and jumping in the pool, you were
actually doing flips from the side into the water. Hooray for Emily!!
Lately you have been asking questions
about Jesus. At five years old,
you can share the good news that Jesus died on the cross to save us from
sin. That’s not surprising since
you have been in church since before you were born!! You point out the Jesus is God and vice-versa. Again –
Sunday school has paid off!
It’s the belief that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive that stumps
you. We can’t see him so how can He be alive? How do we know that God exists? These are questions that all of us wrestle with from time to
time. It doesn’t matter if you are
five or sixty-five…..is God real?
Does He really care for us?
Emily, believing in the existence of God and the resurrection
of Jesus, (even though he doesn’t physically show up for the Sunday sermon or pop
in at bedtime to hear your prayers) is called FAITH. FAITH is what bolstered your confidence to jump off the side
of the pool into water over your head. Although you couldn’t see me when you went under, you
knew I was there, and you had FAITH that I would keep my promise to catch you. Because you know that I love you, you
knew you could trust me. FAITH
in God is basically the same. FAITH
is having confidence that God is alive and active in your life, and that He
cares for you every day. You build
that confidence in God’s love for you through sharing a relationship with God –
reading the Bible and saying your prayers. And just like jumping in the pool and swimming underwater
got easier each time, the more you read about God and talk to God, the easier
it will be to have FAITH in Him.
As you go through life, there will be
times when you feel like you are floundering in water over your head. Life does that to us sometimes. But the good news is that you can trust God. Have FAITH in
His promise, hold onto His hand, and He will pull you out.
Love, BB
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| ORANGE BEACH - 2016 |
