Stop Treading

A father held his one-year-old daughter in the swimming pool as her legs kicked and churned in the water. Her eyes were saucers and her cheeks turned pink with exertion as those little legs pumped frantically. The lower in the water her daddy let her go, the harder she churned.

"She thinks she's keeping herself afloat," he laughed. "She's wearing herself out treading so hard, and she doesn't realize she'd be perfectly safe to just relax in my arms."

How many times am I that daughter? Challenges, problems, fears attack from all sides and I churn and thrash, trying to figure it out, stop the disaster, fix the problem. When it resolves, I'm exhausted and like that tiny child, I think it was my efforts that kept me afloat.

I can imagine my Heavenly Father chuckling at me. "Why don't you relax and trust me? Your efforts wouldn't be enough to solve this dilemma, even if I needed them. I can do this without you. Just relax and enjoy the water."

How about you?

Are you treading fast? Are you wearing yourself out thinking you alone can keep things afloat?

Try handing it all to your Father and relaxing in his arms. He will have work for you to do, but the results won't be your responsibility. He has a plan and your job is to settle into it and let Him do it through you.

Stop treading!

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