Several years ago, I took my 7-year-old son Joseph on a rare solo errand to Wal-Mart. He was excited to escape Mom’s rules and his little brother’s noise. As we neared the store, I gripped his wrist tightly while crossing the busy parking lot, where drivers treat right-of-way as optional. Just before the safety bollards, he suddenly wriggled free and jerked away. Unbeknownst to me, he’d brought a Wal-Mart gift card and dropped it in the crosswalk. My heart leaped into my throat as he darted back into traffic for that small piece of plastic while I saw only potential danger from every direction.
Fortunately, traffic was light. I reached him quickly and we retrieved the card before anything tragic could happen. After retrieving the runaway gift card, we stood for a moment for my blood pressure to return to normal. My son was relieved to have recovered his treasure, but I was still replaying the moment in my mind and how quickly things could have turned in a different direction. As we resumed walking toward the store, I held his hand a little tighter than before.
Moments like that remind us of an important truth about life: children don’t always see danger the way adults do. Their attention is often drawn to the immediate, whether it is something shiny on the ground, a sound in the distance, or an exciting distraction just a few steps away. Meanwhile, the parent sees the bigger picture. They see the approaching car, the moving crowd, and the potential consequences that the child cannot yet understand. That is why parents hold their children’s hands.
The hand of a father or mother is more than a simple gesture of affection. It is protection. It is guidance. It is reassurance. When a child holds a parent’s hand, he or she may not fully understand the reason, but they instinctively trust the one who leads them. The same truth applies to our walk with God.
Life is filled with intersections that look a lot like that Wal-Mart crosswalk. There are distractions that pull our attention away from what matters most. There are decisions that seem small in the moment but carry consequences we cannot yet see. And there are dangers that approach quietly while we are focused on something else entirely. In those moments, our greatest safety comes not from our own awareness but from holding the hand of our Heavenly Father.
Scripture paints this beautiful picture in Isaiah 41:13: “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’” What a comforting promise! The security of our journey through life is not based on how tightly we can hold on to God, but on the strength of His grip on us. Even when we become distracted, fearful, or uncertain, He remains steady.
There will always be gift cards in the road that tempt us to step out of the path of safety. There will always be moments when our attention drifts and our judgment falters. But the good news is that our Father sees what we cannot. He knows the traffic patterns of life. He sees the dangers beyond the intersection. And He gently leads us where it is safe to walk.
All we have to do is hold His hand.
Rev. Bradley Robbins is the Pastor of the Decatur Church of God, 14558 Highway 503, Decatur, MS 39327
