Forward! Crawl!

September 10, 2022 by  
Filed under Daily Devotions

By Anne C. Johnson –

“It’s a girl!”

I glanced up and searched my husband’s eyes. Joy shined through his tears. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered.

The nurse placed our newborn in my arms. My daughter’s bright eyes gazed at me. Though I doubt she knew what she was looking at, she seemed to be taking in everything.

Our precious daughter filled our lives with joy and awe. Sleeping was her nemesis. She fought us every time we laid her down for a nap. My husband would swaddle her and place his hand over her eyes, and at the same time he would massage her eyebrows. This process sometimes took an hour, and for his effort she would sleep for an hour or less.

We spent hours on the floor playing, rolling around, singing and engaging our daughter. When she began to coo at us, we would talk and read to her. During the early years of her life our schedules and focus seemed to revolve around her.

When the magical day came for her to leave the rug and venture forth, we were ready with camera in hand. Up on her knees she started rocking back and forth. Our world would never be the same again. Then the unthinkable happened. Our cute girl went backwards. For months we heard her scream out her frustration, as once again she had backed herself into a corner.

Spiritually, I too find myself crawling backwards. Sometimes I scream out my frustrations. Instead of listening to what God says about me, I fall into the old trap of caring and believing in what others say about me. This straying from God’s word causes my focus to veer from God’s truth. I begin to rely on other’s opinions of who I am and what I am worth.

At times I allow my focus to stray completely away from God. It is then that I have a sense of being backed into a corner, surrounded by doubt and self-loathing. I cry out for God to rescue me and surrender to Him these false beliefs.

Time and time again, God’s word carries me out of the corner of despair. “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37 NIV).

I rediscover that I am loved. I am a conqueror not a quitter and I matter to God. The chapter goes on to say that nothing can separate me from God’s love.

Like my daughter, I need to practice keeping my eyes trained forward on God and His truth. Inch by inch becoming proficient at crawling forward toward my Heavenly Father and away from the snare of depending on others for my self-worth. God’s word is truth, and He created and called me to be His own. Focused on Him, I can move forward with confidence knowing that I belong to the Creator of the universe, and He loves me. I am one of His precious girls.

About Anne Johnson

Anne Johnson spends her time being a wife and mother, home school teacher, writer, registered nurse and loves spending time watching God do amazing things in her and her families lives.
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