What Are You Doing?

“Whatareyoudoing?” Somehow when my little grandson Zach says those words, all run together, it brings a smile to my face, for he is asking gently, out of curiosity. Often it is when I am out of sight, perhaps upstairs as he is finding ways to keep himself busy downstairs. As though in need of reassurance, he simply inquires to know that I am still nearby.

I am sure he has heard those same words often, from the lips of his mama, in a slightly different vein, “Zach…What are you doing?”

You have to know, Zach is an adventurous, busy little fellow who could be up to most anything. Think Curious George. Most likely he has found himself doing something he probably shouldn’t have.

I am so like Zach. I come to my Father and ask, gently, “What are you doing Lord?” Not so much that I might correct Him, but that I might know He is there and has a purpose for what He is doing in my life. Like Zach, I just seek to know and be comforted by the sound of His voice, to know that He is near and watching out for me.

Yet that same voice which has brought comfort and reassurance so many times also asks of me, “Robyn…What are you doing?

And I am reminded that I am but a child whose heart is prone to wander, to lose sight of Him, to find myself caught up in places I ought not go. I pursue my way down footpaths of fear and streets of self-will, tempted to enter rooms of rebellion through doorways of doubt. Like Zach, I sometimes find it hard to be content within the confines of the place I am asked to stay.

And so, like the sweet Psalmist of old, I am thankful that God knows my heart yet loves me still. I welcome the touch of his nail pierced hand.

Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Psalm 139.