...kinda funny that this hit my thoughts on election day, but here goes....
Protection: a word divided into 3 sections, for sure not dictionary approved but for blogging and my minds eye here is what it is worth.
Pro-as in professional
TECT- as in knowledge
Ion- as in active
Funny how this word conjures up: experience, knowledge and action. So many different thought also flood my mind, negative thoughts of protection. The act of covering up or smothered, observing, private times, caution. Then you can say well, positive thoughts are the act of caring, real love, liberties, freedom to express and abilities.
Growing up I had a mixture of both but I mainly focused on the negative. Our parents were very protective of us three kids, to the point that many times I felt (just like our girls did) that I could not be trusted to make good decisions. I felt that my desires to try new things always were conditioned to safety and monetary issues. Of which the later was usually the first on the priority list. Yet still as a young girl my desires to be on the drama team or join Girl Scouts were never about money, but ran alongside my mothers schedule. You see, she had the bulk of raising us kids and since I was 7 n 8 yrs older than my siblings, she was tied down to other responsibilities. Of course I didn't "get that" until I was in my 20's. I understood that they loved and cared for me.
Then I suddenly felt the negative side of protection slide away. I became a parent at the age of 22 and started the same path that my parents took with me...PROTECTION. I also knew that I needed to change the way I protected our children. I had just gave Christ my whole life, complete surrender so I knew that FAITH IN HIM was the key to protecting my children. How do I protect yet not smother them? Steve was so much better in "letting them go" with little increments of trust and faith and when it deemed right for the occasion. I on the other hand, wanting to do what is right, would find myself fighting inside over the "what if's" that never came! i.e. our youngest going to a Texas Ranger game with her sweet friend Jessica. Steve assured me that her parents would watch her closely...yet my tiny 1st grader was (I assured myself in fret) going to get lost in the sea of thousands of people. I had her face on the 10 o'clock news before she ever left the house!
For along time I so worried about things that I realized I was missing out on experiences and would relay that to my children. Life almost stopped for me, short of living life to it's fullest with a large dash of wisdom thrown in I almost missed out. That is when Christ revealed to me my long time issues on TRUST. I had to trust Him in all areas of life. I am afraid that my negative feelings of protection transferred to our daughters to some extent. For this I apoligize girls.
Jesus said "do not worry about tomorrow while it is today." I started heeding that advise. Now when I think of PROTECTION I first see God. I see the positive side, why? Because God to me represents: love, trust, truth, strength and forever. I remind myself that this is real protection, yet sometimes I throw ole Mr. What-If into the mix and almost always he really never shows up!
Easter Sunday as I led my 1st graders into telling me their favorite stories of Jesus, they had all forgotten the story of Jesus and the little children. I said, "remember all the kids wanted to be near Jesus and the disciples started shewing them away, yet Jesus said (1st grade version) "Whoa, wait one minute, let the children stay with me." One sweet little girl very boldly said "that's because Jesus is never to busy for anyone."
And she is right- never to busy to deal with my worried thoughts of "what-ifs", never to busy to hear and heal cancer patients or broken marriages, never to busy to stop and hear us complain or praise, never to busy to watch over our military or cover a car with His protection so an accident does not occur. Never to busy for me....now that is PROTECTION PERSONIFIED!
