You can see it in his eyes...

 

Although Caleb said he trusted me as I tried to tie a string around his first loose tooth, he was a bit worried!  He asked me how to pull a tooth and I told how I had used a string.  He said he was ready to pull it out and we worked at getting that string to stay around the tooth.  I knew he wasn’t completely comfortable with moving forward when he gave that half-giggle, half-cry that we do in those uncomfortable moments like when you go to the dentist or doctor’s office, or when your about to get a shot or blood drawn.  You know what I’m talking about...I did it last week when I watched the monitor as the cardiologist pointed out the small piece of cholesterol moving up and down on my aortic valve!  He said, “It’s nothing to be concerned about.”  Oh NO...it’s just a piece of cholesterol on my AORTIC VALVE!!!  I’m not worried! (Ahem.)  I digress.

 

After ten minutes of working and finally getting that silly string tied onto that little baby tooth, Caleb bailed on me.  He just wasn’t sure he was ready to do it.  The next day he asked again about if I thought it would bleed or hurt if he pulled it out.  I assured him that as loose as it looked it probably wouldn’t hurt, although it might bleed.  I told him, “Caleb, I think it’s time...but you have to do it.”  Then he asked me, “So do I go this direction?”  I looked up and saw Caleb standing with a look of total amazement, holding his tooth in between his finger and thumb.  It came out when as he was asking!

 

You know, as I think about that precious milestone, I can’t help but think about how similar our lives are right now as we look to the future.  As Caleb’s loose tooth told him it’s getting close to the time, our calendars keep reminding us just how quickly our time here in Tanzania is flying by.  All along we have said, “We trust you, Lord.”  But I wonder what He saw in our eyes?  In our hearts?  It’s one thing to say it, it’s another thing to do it.  

 

We have worked at getting a “string” around a couple of opportunities that we thought God was opening up for us.  Each time, however, the door was closed.  All along, I knew God was asking us, “Do you trust me?”  Of course the right answer is “yes.”  But in honesty I had closed doors on God.  As Caleb refused to use the string I provided, I was limiting God by saying I will go here or there, but I don’t want to go over there.  

 

This week has been different though.  God has gotten our attention and we have come to the point of saying, “Okay God, I’m ready.  I’ll do it.  I’ll go wherever YOU want.  I am Yours completely!”  Now that I have come to that point of asking, like Caleb, “Do I go this direction, Daddy?”, I am anticipating the “tooth” just coming out and everything falling into place.

 

What about you?  Do you trust him...completely?