On my Father’s Shoulders

So, I spoke recently about how I haven’t been trusting in God to take care of the messes in my life. Well, I thought I’d give a little update.

Remember the passage in Isaiah? The one that made me relax and let God handle things?

Isaiah 30:15 (emphasis is mine): "This is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'If you come back to me and trust me, you will be saved. If you will BE CALM and TRUST ME, you will be STRONG . . . .’"

Well, I was listening to a song that I’ve listened to a gazillion times, and all of a sudden, the words struck me like never before:

When I am down, and oh, my soul so weary,

when troubles come and my heart burdened me

When I am still and wait here in the silence,

until you come and sit a while with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains.

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas,

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders,

you raise me up to more than I can be.

I listened to it from Celtic Woman, and if you’d like to hear it yourself, click on this LINK.

Well, it got me thinking how God wants me on His shoulders. I just need to be still and wait for Him, Psalms 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” He wants to sit beside me and comfort me, and he wants to carry me on His shoulders where I can be strong. Of course, this is what He wants for ALL OF US. What a wonderful thought!

Then I started thinking about when I was last on someone’s shoulders. Of course, I was a little girl and my father came to mind. But while I was on his shoulders I was afraid. I can remember him getting irritated with me because I was so afraid. I just didn’t trust him. He’d always find a way to scare me, so while on his shoulders, I was simply waiting for what he might do. I didn’t have fun. I didn’t think what a great time we were having. I was wondering when he might pretend to toss me on the ground, and just how far down the ground seemed at the time. Hmm, not a good feeling.

If I’m on my Heavenly Father’s shoulders, I want to feel safe, secure. So, I tried to remember if I had ever been on someone’s shoulders where I felt safe. That’s when my uncle came to mind. He was a cop and was always fun, and he was someone I could trust. I thought of the time when he playfully lifted me up onto his shoulders . . . but I was afraid. He immediately set me on my feet, knelt down and talked to me. He said he wouldn’t hurt me. And I knew he told the truth because he showed me how his own children weren’t afraid of him when he played with them. He demonstrated by putting my cousins on his shoulders, and he didn’t do anything to scare them, so I knew I’d be safe. And I was safe. I was high up on his shoulders, high enough to touch the ceiling, and he never pretended to let me fall. He never did anything to deliberately frighten me. When he set me down, I remember thinking how nice it was to feel safe and have fun, and wishing I could feel that way more often. It was just a brief moment in my childhood, but it spoke volumes to me as a little girl, and told me that there are fathers out there who aren’t mean to their kids. That's when I wished he was my dad, and I begged him to pick me up again.

That’s how it is with our Heavenly Father. We may be high off the ground, He might have to walk through stormy winds, but I am strong, I am safe, when I am on His shoulders.

Thank you, Uncle Dennis, for the GOOD memory.