My Little Sheep
One of the greatest lessons I have been taught by Pastor Grace is that "a person's perception is their reality." In order to understand what trust may mean to some, we would have to understand what their perception of the word's definition may be. Trust- How would you define it? To some they may define trust as the "ability to tell someone anything and know that it would be kept in strict confidence." To others it may be "to fully rely and depend on another." While the on-line dictionary defines it as "a firm belief in the integrity, ability, effectiveness, or genuineness of someone or something."
As the Lord has enabled me to journey thru this study, He has shown me that not only does He want me to Trust in Him but He entrusts in me. This idea blows my mind. How could a Perfect God trust in me, a human full of vile and wickedness? And if this thought is true, how exactly does He trust in me? The answer became clear on Tuesday as I reflected on this ridiculous idea. Enjoy the blurb--
Monday 5 pm-done for work for the day and I have tomorrow off to do anything or nothing at all. Then suddenly I lose my mind and decide to have a slumber party for ALL my nieces and nephews! If you don't know, I am the oldest girl of seven children which equals A LOT of nieces and nephews! Praise the Lord He is much wiser than my crazy head and prevented this from actually occurring! (Gotta love His Sovereignty!) My oldest nephew (Donovan) was already out for the night being summer and all. Two of my lil darling nieces, Azaylea (my very special girl!) and Adeana (the best little behaved girl ever), had returned home to their mom for visitation. Vincent, Aryianna and Jayden were already exhausted from the days events. So, I ended up with Xavion (who goes by the name "Zippy"), Sierrah Rain (who goes by "C-C") and Selena Raven (who is called "Lena") along with my little two rascals (Arielle and Cody J). Well, we ordered pizza and chicken wings, filled the fridge with soda, stocked up on M&M's and ice cream sandwiches and unpacked the game cubes, nintendo ds's, makeover party computer game, game boys, mp3's, ipods and only the Lord knows what other electronic devices these kids have today and decided to go for a walk!!! (I love that part--all that and we got right back to the basics of just simply enjoying one another!) It was great! We just walked and talked and giggled and ran and I just enjoyed each of their individual personalities that God created them to be!
Morning came and I shooed them all of to get dressed, eat and tidy up. As their little eyes glistened with anticipation one after another tried to guess what we would be doing and where we would be going! Boy, did they have big plans from Darien Lake to Niagra Falls, from Seabreeze to the Zoo--I was going to terribly disappoint these little children by just taking them to Hamlin Beach on a boring little picnic!
As we pulled into the park I heard the groans of dismay. And then I pulled up to a grassy patch and unloaded them. As we neared the woods, my children shouted w/glee that we were going to attempt another nature trail (more on how funny these can actually be on another post!) and my nieces and nephews stared blankly at me as if they had no idea what they were in for. I explained we were going on a hike and they still stared blankly as they expressed they had never done such a thing. 
As we walked thru the winding trails without any maps (the map bin was empty!) we had to just vote on whether we would go left or right. They discovered moss on the ground and dead trees and fungi. They heard birds chirping and saw paw prints. They saw silent streams and muddy marshes. They saw beautiful Lake Ontario and the "flat rock" peninsula that was made to preserve the nature trails. They loved stopping at the scenic overlooks and random benches that were placed sporadically along the paths. And then the little sheep's eyes opened.
One stated that he wondered how all this stuff got here. Another piped in, "Who do you think made it all?" SILENCE!!! My kids stared at me--fully aware of the opportunity that had just been entrusted to us. And I swallowed and said, "God." Then it happened. "Whose God?," the little voice asked. My kids ogled me knowing that I would get in trouble from my family if I went too deep on the subject. And I explained He was the Creator. "Oh yeah, what did He create?" became the next question. "Ummmm..... the stars and the moon, the heavens and the earth, every living thing that ever existed," I replied. "Hmmm, Aunt Neena, how'd He do that?" began the next question. Followed by more silence. "Well, He spoke it into existence. He said let there be..... and there was. Isn't that awesome?" became my reply. "So is God a man?" another little voice asked. "Ummm....well He is God and He did become a man so that we could be forgiven of our sins, if that helps answer your question." More silence and walking occurred and then it was over--"Well, I really like all the different houses God makes!" And my kids and I burst into laughter and yet were sad at the same time.
My little sheep that God trusts me with. He has given me so many nieces and nephews so that I may glorify Him thru sharing time and creation with them. What an awesome responsibility. What an honor--to be used to for His glory. Pray for these little sheep who don't know Him. Pray that they will continue to adore their "favorite Aunt Neena" and see Jesus thru me. If trust means "the firm belief in the integrity of someone" and God has entrusted them to me, I will need all of your prayers. 
