Full Circle
People usually know what you mean when someone says, “full circle!” It means that the conversation has traversed a long and convoluted route all the way back to where it started. Triumph to tragedy to triumph again. We appreciate the cyclical nature of life because it makes sense to us. The circle of life, vicious cycle, going in circles, circle the wagons – we understand because we have lived these circles ourselves.
Life Circles
From the time we are babies – we stay close to our parents, then venture out on our own, only to return to their sides over and over again. When we are very small – the circles are small. We may be clutching our mother’s skirt, run out and touch something, and then rush back to her side. By the time we are teenagers, we take much longer to go back and reflect on our choices with our parents. Then, when we have children of our own, we spend much more time with our parents again. When they are old – we care for them the way they cared for us. Full circle.
Trusting God
We learn to trust God by example. As children, running back to our parents helps us to learn trust. We know that they will be there to fix the scrapes, give advice, dry our tears. If we haven’t had the benefit of that experience, we still learn to trust by example – it’s just harder. We either learn through similar experiences with friends or others. If not them, then we learn by watching Jesus’ own example of obedience to His father. Today’s verse implies a full circle. It starts with a God-given direction. Next is the choice to figure things out on our own. Finally, we see how our choices cause us to veer off the path. So, God instructs us to trust in Him instead of our own understanding of things and promises to keep us on the path we were meant to travel when we do.
40-Day Challenge: Day 14 Reading
Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him(acknowledge him), and he will direct your paths(make your paths straight).