To be carried

The other evening, Kylee and I were blessed to be able to go to a fun musical together that our neighbor girl was a part of. I really enjoyed having a date with my girl and we had fun! It ran much later than her normal bedtime, and as we were leaving she reached up her arms and asked to be carried. I couldn't remember for the life of me the last time I had carried my little girl. At just 5 she's the eldest in our household of 4 kiddos, so I often have high expectations of her to be helpful and responsible as I try to find ways to keep the boys close to me while I trudge around with a heavy baby carrier and all the books and bags needed for any given outing.

"Absolutely," I stated, as I scooped her into my arms. Her heavy head was quickly resting upon my shoulder as she began to drift into slumber. I just loved the feeling of carrying this precious, growing girl in my arms once again. It had been soooo long.

In the moments that I walked in silence to the car, my mind wandered to my own childhood memories of being carried. I remember the feeling of total surrender, while someone else did the walking for me; I remember the security and safety of feeling that someone else was in control and would get me to where I needed to be; I remember how good it felt to know that the arms that held me belonged to someone who loved me deeply. I loved the opportunity of being able to provide those things to my little girl in that moment.

Does it sound familiar? I hope so! To those who know Christ as our Savior, we too get to be carried by the One who made us! When we are too weak, too tired, too lost, too scared, we are able to look up and ask, "Will You please carry me through this?" I have had many times in my life when I needed to be carried and rest securely in the arms of One who knows where I'm going and One who loves me deeply. Oh to be carried... what a wonderful thing.