Lets All be a Little Fiery Red - Encouragement Café - March 3, 2017

Lets All Be a Little Fiery Red
By Dawn Whitmore

Friday, March 3, 2017

“Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t be frightened, because the Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave or forget you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NCV)

Winter is tough. The days are short. It is cold and dreary. I am not sure about you all, but winter has been pretty rough around here. We lost a loved one, the second year in a row a loved one died on January 4th.

Lateral moves in jobs have changed finances. Yet, walking in God’s peace and trusting Him has been and will be our focus for 2017.

When the flowers begin blooming, the days get longer, and the weather warming up just brings a sense of relief with it. We can take walks and feel the warmth of the sun on our face.

While walking my neighborhood and photographing the beginning signs of Spring, I like to watch the little ones on the playground. 

I hear the fiery red headed little guy before seeing him. He barrels full steam ahead, bellowing at the top of his lungs, “Jillian”, as he sprints to the playground.

My eye is drawn to the blonde haired girl, who must be “Jillian”, because she looks towards the ‘fiery red’ and smiles before bolting to her Dad on the bench.

Her Dad gently reminds her this is rambunctious bundle of energy is her friend. With gentle prodding, Jillian smiles and walks over to ‘fiery red’ who is climbing the slide. “Come on Jillian, let’s slide,” he shouts. Jillian looks back at Dad and he shakes his head with an affirmative “yes”. She smiles and starts climbing. 

As I watch, Jillian and ‘fiery red’ on the playground; it is apparent the two interact differently with the men in their lives.

“Fiery Red” plays on everything. He climbs, jumps, hops, and slides. He shows no fear and giggles with abandon.  He rarely looks back at Dad. He has this assurance Dad is watching over him.

A quick glance reveals Dad is watching and smiling. When ‘fiery red’ gets too close to the edge of a platform, he gently says, “Son…” and this is all it takes for the boy to smile and step back.

Jillian is a different story. Every few minutes, she stops playing to go back to the bench to see if Dad is still there. She won’t let herself have the abandon and truly enjoy the playground because she needs to see Dad. For some reason, Jillian can’t seem to let go of the fear her Dad is not there watching, loving and protecting her.

As we leave winter 2017 behind us, will we let our experiences, trials and heartaches rob us of the joy in front of us? Will you be able to run with abandon and giggle knowing that God is with you always? Or will you be like Jillian letting fear keep you from experiencing all God has for you?

Let’s each spend time in prayer today, praying that we will truly know that as we are strong and brave, God will not leave or forget us.

"Father, as we watch Winter turn to Spring. May each of us walk in the confidence of Your love. May we all have the confidence of a 'little fiery red'. Thank You Father for being there always."

© 2017 by Dawn Whitmore.  All rights reserved.

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Originally published Friday, 03 March 2017.

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