Cairns

Back in my Girl Scout days, we learned about cairns ~ stacks of rocks beside a hiking trail to let you know that you were still on the right path.

These past weeks have brought those to mind.  While God continues to work and shape us in ways that don't always seem directly related to the Abigail promise, there have been little markers along the way that remind us that yes, we are still on the right path, and no, He hasn't forgotten.


And I am so thankful for those.  Because otherwise it would be far too easy for me to get wrapped up in the day-to-day of parenting, schooling, and ministry and forget that we have been set upon a path.  Don't get me wrong ~ those things ARE the most important things right now, because those are the tasks that God has given for this stage.  But they're not the only things. He has given us the promise now so that when the time comes for it to be fulfilled, we'll be ready.  And some of that readiness means giving our best to the present while at the same time, listening for any steps we need to take for the future.

The cairns come sometimes when I least expect them.  A former student wrote an email about her encounter with a little old lady and her doggie (whom she'd adopted when he showed up homeless on her doorstep).  The dog's name?  Abigail.    A friend telling me how she thought of me when she was on a day trip for her birthday and wound up at a little restaurant for lunch ~ named Abigail's.  Bible verses from this Abigail journey showing up over and over again in books and magazines:  Psalm 40:3, Psalm 27:14 . . .   My 4 year old son coming up and patting my heart while saying, "You've got a baby in there."  (The kids don't know about this promise yet.)   A message from a friend encouraging me to hold tight to this promise and not to second guess it, because in the grand scheme of things, we've only had this promise for about as long as a typical pregnancy.  Another friend loaning me a book (that she was in the middle of reading), because it made her think so much of this situation.  Cairns, all of them, that remind me to give thanks to a Father who knows all the twists and turns of this trail and has already set out markers to guide us along the path.

Isaiah 42:16 - I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way.  I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them.  Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.