Reminder from Jacob: On Comfort

Reminders from Jacob: On Comfort

We left early Saturday evening (two of my daughters, Shawna and Lolly, and my grandson, Jacob and I) for the 16-hour drive to Missouri for a wedding.

Lolly had purchased a DVD player that would attach to the headrest on the back of the driver’s seat and brought along all of 2 1/2 year-old Jacob’s favorite movies.

All went well for the first four hours while Jacob watched one movie after another, snacked on all of his favorite treats and played with an innumerable number of toys…his mother was well prepared. And, of course, he had her undivided attention.

Around bedtime we made a “pit stop” and when we got back into the car Jacob grabbed his blankie and pillow and climbed into the back window stating, “I get comftable now,” as he prepared for a good night’s sleep.

To say that he was upset when his mom informed him that he could not sleep in the window, but had to return to his car seat and be strapped in, would be an understatement. He spent the next ten minutes protesting loudly and pouting dramatically, until finally he cried himself to sleep. Ahhh, the peaceful bliss of a sleeping child.

For the next several minutes and throughout the following days, as I pondered that incident and shared it with others, I thought how like Jacob we are, sometimes, with God!

When my five children were small, child car seats were a relatively unheard of commodity. As babies and toddlers, I held all of my children in my lap in the passenger’s seat of the car. I remember them all, at different times, standing in the front seat between us. And climbing back and forth over the front seat into the back was a regular occurrence. I am appalled at the thought today!

Lolly asked me, at one point in the night, when it was so apparent that Jacob was uncomfortable and restless, if I thought it would be alright for her to unstrap him and let him lay on the seat beside her. I could not even stand the thought of him being out of his seat for a few minutes. How would we live with ourselves if anything happened to him because of our negligence?

I continue to ponder the lessons…

Jacob, strapped in a well made child safety seat, was as safe as he could possibly be while riding in a moving vehicle. How like the arms of God! We are invited to rest in Him, to allow Him to shield us and protect us and see us safely through life’s journey. He in the driver’s seat and we along for the ride!

Yet, how often do we pull and tug against the straps, fight against the restraints, fail to yield to the Father’s will? How prone we are to climb out of the safety seat, sometimes even choosing to scurry behind the wheel and take a detour that might be a little quicker or easier and much less restraining!

Or, just like Jacob we want to “get comftable!” And we think we know how to get that way…regardless of what God might have planned, which may even wind up moving us waaaaay out of our “comftable” (and safe) zone!

Jacob, too, struggles with the fact that his mom and dad know what is best for him. At 2 1/2 he is ever so prone to wanting to do things his way, in his time and he wants instant gratification always. When mom or dad say, “no,” the drama begins. Oh Lord, keep ME from willful ways!

Anyway, I keep thinking of lessons to be learned from Jacob…maybe God will speak to you through this, as well! In the meantime, know that He provides the best kind of comfort we need! In His arms we can safely abide.