Skirting the edges of the deep

I watched my one year old grandson splash the water. He was standing on the one foot ledge at the edge of his pool. Zekey was so confident marching back and forth on that ledge. He didn’t mind as the water splashed into his eyes. His Pop Pop would blow bubbles while standing in the deeper water and within reaching distance of catching Zeke should he accidentally fall off his little ledge. Zeke would imitate Pop Pop and even immerse his entire face under water. Happily, he would bounce and trounce across his little ledge. He was king of the ledge and it was Zeke’s safe zone. Every once in a while Zeke would walk right up to the edge of the ledge and test the depth. He would point his toe and place it out into the deep. I could see the battle raging on in his little thought life. “Do I trust Pop Pop or do I not? Will Pop Pop catch me if the deep waters rise above my head?”

I tried an experiment. “One, two, three, jump Zekey.” Guess what Zeke did! He jumped. He jumped right into Pop Pop’s outstretched arms. Guess what Pop Pop did. He caught Zekey. He held Zeke’s head up above the deep waters.

“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came He was there alone. But the boat was already over a mile from land, battered by the wave, because the wind was against them. Around three in the morning, He came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” They said, and cried out in fear. Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.” “Come!” He said. And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:22-31 HCSB.

Safe and secure in Pop Pop’s arms, Zeke’s breaths were slow and consistent, but the moment Kevin pushed Zeke out from his body, Zeke’s breaths became shallow and a little faster. His arms reached for his Pop Pop.

Aren’t we all just like Zeke and Peter? We have our little one foot ledge we like to bounce upon. It becomes our safe zone. We are confident skirting the edges, but then we hear the word, “Come!” Or “One, two, three, jump!” We cling to the ledge. God asks us to jump into deep waters with Him. The battle rages within us, “Do I trust Father God, my Abba, or do I not? Will Abba catch me? Will He help me walk above the deep?” Well, Pop Pop caught Zekey, and Jesus caught Peter. Enough said.

A note from Kellye:

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted. I was busy last week. I had the privilege and joy to keep my one year old grandson, Ezekiel Matthew Jones, and seriously is that not the most adorable toddler sporting his Billabong bathing suit? Look at that beach body.

Yesterday was our first day home. We are trying to play catch up and get ahead all in one week. Next week we will be on vacation with the entire family. I love the lazy days of summer. Kevin had some visitors at his office. Our two other grandsons came calling and they were full of information. We hadn’t seen them for an entire week and they had much to fill us in on. “Pop Pop, can we come to your house?” “Sure,” was Kevin’s reply, because when your grandkids still enjoy spending time with you, all else can wait.

They came sneaking into the house to surprise me. As soon as I saw their smiling faces, I put down everything I was doing, and thanked God that they like to surprise me with their presence. There will come a day when friends, and cars, and activities and yes, even girls will take precedence over LaLa and Pop Pop, and when that day comes I don’t want to have any regrets because I was too busy now to play with my grandsons. “I asked the boys to spend the night with us tonight,” Kevin informed me. “Oh good, did they want to?” I asked. “Yes. They are very excited. Asher wants to bring his football and run routes,” Kevin swelled with pride. Our grandsons are still naive enough to think their grandparents are cool. So I put my writing on the back burner so that I may enjoy the lazy days of summer with them. Lucas will turn seven on Thursday, next summer Asher will be eleven and LaLa’s soccer skills might not impress them anymore.

There is one writing project I am excited to tell you about. I completed my second book! “On the Way” will be coming your way January 2018!