She sat on that rock for what felt like forever, pouting and kicking the dirt around as she cried.

Where are we going?!!? …What are we doing?!?  she screamed every time I reached for her hand.

We were supposed to go on an adventure. But she wasn’t having it. Overwhelmed with the unknown, she stayed petrified on that rock and wouldn’t budge.

I told her, it would be worth it. 

I promise.

Though it might be difficult,  I would be with her every step of the way.

There was so much I wanted to show her.

But her cries and questions continued.

I suppose that’s what happens when you take a three-year-old hiking. But as I watched her pouting on the rock that day, I thought of all the times I have done the exact same thing. How so often,

We don’t understand what God is doing.

We want to know where we are going and why, protesting and refusing to take one more step until God answers our every question.

….Where are you taking me?!? ….What are you doing?!? 

How God lovingly responds to those questions in much of the same way I did to my daughter,

 “…You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” (John 13:7)

But it will be worth it, I promise… 

Allowing us to sit on the rock until we catch our breath and are ready to continue the path with Him.

And when we are ready, God reaches for our hand and promises not to let us stumble.

In Psalm 121:3-8 it says,

[God] will not let you stumble;

The One who watches over you will not slumber.

The Lord himself watches over you!

The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life… now and forever.

What I longed for my daughter to see was that she wasn’t alone on the path –  I was standing beside her, holding out my hand and inviting her on an adventure where I promised to be with her every step of the way. There was so much I wanted to show her.

God promises the same for us. That if we choose to get off the rock and leave our unanswered questions behind, He will never let us stumble. And just like my daughter learned on the mountain that day, when the journey becomes too much to bear, our father will be right by our side like he promised, ready to swoop in and carry us the rest of the way.

And there is so much He wants to show us…

You see,

We try to evade the beautiful adventure set before us, but God wants us to embrace it!

Because even with all of life’s uncertainty there is unadulterated beauty – in this very moment! Waterfalls to be seen from where we cry.

I think back to my daughter sobbing on the rock. Her uncertainties valid, but paralyzing. Her questions causing her to recoil from the unknown of the future, but with it, the beauty surrounding her in the present.

How because of her fear of the unknown, she was unaware of the waterfall directly beneath her as she cried.

It got me thinking about the gifts I may have missed because of the tantrums I have thrown. Wondering what beauty I never got to bask in because I was so caught up with my questions, my fears and all the expectations I had about the future. The opportunities I likely missed for God to carry me because I was too fearful to step out on a difficult path where I would ever need Him to.

But as I tucked my daughter into bed that night, she held me tight as we reflected on the day we shared,

“We went on an adventure – TOGETHER!” she squealed in delight.

And I considered for a moment the journey we embarked on, and how it was likely only a minuscule fraction of the adventure God wants to take His children on. How one day when we wrap ourselves up in the arms of our Creator, we could only be so lucky to hear those exact words as we reflect on the journey through this life we shared – together!

How that adventure is waiting –

One brimming with waterfalls to be seen from where we cry, today.

… If only I’d choose to get off the rock and quit pouting.