ink, sweat + cityscapes

i read isaiah 49 this morning. the whole chapter is a description of what it looks like to be Emmanuel, God With Us. He chooses us as servants and glorifies Himself in us, forms us from the womb to be His servants, honors us in His eyes and becomes our strength, redeems and answers and helps and keeps us and remembers us and gives us covenants, makes mountains into roads. how beautiful, His presence. my favorite verses are 25 + 26: “for thus says the Lord: ‘even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children… then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.’”

it hit me. hard.

i was still thinking about this passage while i taught my first swim lesson of the day. the girl is named missayla. she’s 5 years old. and God was speaking through her. it went like this:

me: “okay, now swim to that point.”

her: “i can’t! the water’s too deep and it will cover me and i will drown.”

me: “no you won’t. i’ll hold you the whole time.”

her: “but i’m too small. i’m not strong enough.”

me: “i’m here, i’m with you, and i’ll hold you.”

her: “i can’t do it by myself.”

me: “you’re right. you can’t. but i’m here.”

she did it.

me: “you did it! you did it all by yourself!”

her: “no i didn’t. i couldn’t do it. i couldn’t do it by myself. i couldn’t even do it with you. but you held me, and you were there the whole time.”

amen.