As I look at the eyes of myself in that old picture, I see a girl who has no idea what the next ten years will hold. And you know what? Those ten years were gut-wrenching. Filled with pain and loss and fear and failure and hurts that were so deep I wonder if I could survive them again. Yet, as I read the little note in my Bible this morning about Abraham and his son Isaac, “What a privilege to be taken to the limit and pass.” Some days passing meant that we just kept going. What a privilege, to be taken to the absolute limit, and be redeemed. God allowed me to be at the brink of losing my daughter…then at the brink of losing myself…and then came to my rescue.
So as I look at my profile picture from today, what I notice are my eyes. Eyes that are weathered, but eyes that have seen the provision and deliverance of my God. I can look back at the past ten years without being afraid of knowing what I was about to experience. Those weathered eyes know the great love of a great God. I would be surprised if He takes me to the brink again. I would be surprised if these next ten years hold the turmoil of the previous ten. But if they do, I will follow this God of mine anywhere because, in the thick, He has shown Himself to be the only way. These weary eyes know pain, but they also know joy. They know deliverance and they know gratitude. They know that the only place to set their gaze is on their Savior. Ten years later, I can tell you I would follow Him anywhere.
