Knowing whom to trust is absolutely essential to navigating life.
And, of course, following on the heels of that statement is another one: knowing whom to trust is not always easy. Case in point: shysters who put on a good front of being reputable, but they are found as being liars and deceivers. How many people do we know or read about who lost tons of money, sometimes their life savings, due to someone who pretended they were trustworthy?
In my own profession (pastor), time after time we read stories of deception, immorality, abuse, gossip, theft, etc. all coming from one who deceived, lied and covered up their true intentions. Sadly, someone who was supposed to be trustworthy.
A young boy we have been praying for close to two years has a brain tumor, a gioblastoma. M has lived two years this September since being diagnosed, but the effects of the spreading cancer and steroids has taken its toll. A little over 2 months ago this little 6 year old suffered a stroke, but he refuses to give up. This past Sunday M was baptized by his dad. I baptized the dad and then (with help from his wife) he baptized their son. We baptize by immersion and it was the parent’s request and met with M’s approval. I can be heard on the video (which I did not know was being recorded) telling M to “trust your dad.” Dad held him close to his chest and went under the water with him (as did mom).
“Trust your dad.” M relied on his father’s strength to hold him close both above and below the water. He trusted because he knew his father was trustworthy and was not going to allow anything to happen to him. We too have a Father we can trust. He has been, is now, and always will be completely and wholly trustworthy. That’s because He is a good, good Father. It is absolutely essential we place ourselves into His hands. You see…we don’t need to know everything when we are with someone we trust.
We can trust our Father, our Abba, who hears our prayers and loves us beyond measure. This is such a sweet and touching story about little M., Bill. I will add him to my prayer list.
Blessings!
Prayers are appreciated. Thanks Martha.
A great example of trust. Will continue to pray for M and his family as they continue this journey together. He has put his trust not only in his dad, but also Jesus!
Great point Ryan! I should have mentioned that fact.
I have been praying for M for two years Bill, and it so hard when you are praying and the prayers are not answered the way you wish they were. For you to say both the dad and M were baptised on sunday, that is so awesome, that is an answered pray. We do not always understand why things happen, but that just proves that God is always listening. One of prayers for the family has been for them to trust in God, and to lean on Him and not pull away from Him or to be angry at things we cannot understand. I still pray for complete healing, but knowing M and dad were baptised fills me with joyful tears.
First Gail, thanks for praying. It was a real pleasure taking part if M’s baptism as well as his dad’s. I baptized his dad and then he baptized M, his two other children, his sister and his mother. His wife was right alongside him through the whole thing. It was a “holy” moment for me to be sure. It is sometimes hard to understand the “why” of what God is doing but He has His purpose. I suspect God is going to look at M and say, “See! Now you are with me and your family will join us someday.” Again, thanks for your prayers. Oh…tears are allowed.