Decisions, Decisions
Marcia Lee Laycock
* * * * *
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 by Marcia Lee Laycock
Discover other books by Marcia Lee Laycock here
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.
**************
Decisions, Decisions
Marcia Lee Laycock
I could feel the pull in my daughter’s voice during the long-distance call. She wanted me to tell her what she should do. Our middle daughter, Laura was, in more ways than one, in between. Having graduated from college, she and had been working, but was restless. She felt the Lord had something more for her.
So Laura took a leap of faith and applied to do mission work in Asia. As she launched herself onto this path she had to make some decisions and that has never been easy for Laura. She is one of those people who has a perpetually positive outlook, so she can see good in every option and has a hard time deciding which is best.
That is what the phone call was about. She was having a hard time deciding if she should stay in the city, where she was paying high rent and driving a fair distance to a job that was not very challenging. The other option was to come home. She’d be able to save more money living with us and could work for a friend to pay her student loan off more quickly, but that would mean leaving a good group of friends, a good church in which she was active. She just couldn’t decide.
As a mom, my first instinct was to tell her what to do. In fact, I wanted to shout – “come home, come home!” But I restrained myself and told her I would keep praying for God’s direction.
The next morning I was reading my Bible and came across Psalm 84. Verse 3 seemed to flash like a neon sign – “Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may have her young – a place near your altar, oh Lord Almighty, my King and my God.”
I e-mailed Laura and told her, “nest yourself near The Lord, and it won’t matter where you fly.”
Over and over again, God calls us to do this – to nest near him. “Abide in me,” He says, “Hide in me. Let me gather you under my wing. Stay close.” I think God repeats it so much in His word because He knows how prone we are to fall away. We so easily separate ourselves from the source of nourishment and protection. And He knows how dangerous that is. He knows there are a lot of dark corners in this world.
When Laura did come home I realized it would not be easy to watch my daughter face the challenges and struggles of life in a dark corner of the world. It wouldn’t be easy to deal with my fears for her safety. But as I have prayed for her, facing and confessing my fears, I have realized I have some decisions to make, too, decisions regarding faith, decisions regarding trust.
I have some nesting of my own to do.