Follow Him
…how often I long to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Matthew 23:37b
I saw them just in time to slow down. A mother duck charted a course for her seven ducklings across Liberty road, a fast four-lane. It was morning rush hour. She bustled along and her babies followed, one little webbed foot after another. My emotions ran the gamut. First from raw fear to relief as cars screeched to slow. I laughed at the mother duck’s audacity—Mama Duck vs. the highway.Then I cried at the little ducks following their mother—it was all they knew to do.
Those baby ducks had no clue any moment they might be mashed out of existence by a stray tire. They just followed their mother. What a picture of blind trust.
Unlike a baby duck, I have many options when it comes to who or what I’ll follow. And it’s easy to complicate things fast. The worries of this world whizzing around my life easily distract. I might get mashed. God gave me a brain and with it, the freedom to question. But He also gave me the freedom to follow. Following happens one decision at a time. One deliberate step at a time. It is simple. Not easy, but simple, and ultimately peaceful. God wins.
We can follow Jesus—one little webbed foot after another. Let Jesus guide you across the scary highway of life. As far as I could tell, the duck family made it. Deciding to follow Jesus, so will we. What is keeping you from following Jesus today? Put one foot forward toward Him, the other has to follow.
Jana Dean is a globe-trotting missionary kid who resides in Kentucky. She supports her writing habit as a corporate communicator and sales trainer. She also teaches youth Sunday school, and performs as keyboardist and vocalist with Aaron Austin and the Bootleg Preachers as well as the women’s trio, Rahab’s Rope.
Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!
*Photo by Vlado – used by permission FreeDigitalPhotos.net