trust | AnnaLeah & Mary

Will I ever truly know how to let go and be at peace no matter the circumstances?

Mary and I were having some quiet time—hard for a two year-old who is having fun at the Lake. Savor precious moments…here today and gone tomorrow.

Be still and know that He is God…trust that He will be a present help in times of trouble…rest in His loving arms.

What would it be like to embrace life like a fun-loving fearless two year-old — who needed her mom to draw a boundary line in the sand?

AnnaLeah was 6 & Mary was 2, and they were both water bugs! Our family enjoyed a quiet vacation at a cottage overlooking Lake Michigan.

Can I tackle the challenges before me like an insistent two year-old, determined to solve life’s problems but able to enjoy unexpected delights along the way?

When Mary was very young, we used to call her www.mlk (wonderful wiggly worm mary lydia karth). She was full of energy and very expressive. It didn’t take much for her to make us laugh or smile.

This two-minute video, where we were packing up to go home after a summer vacation, was one of those times where she amused her older brother without even trying.

Can I learn to let go in the midst of serious life difficulties, to trust the Master of the Universe to be in control — while at the same time, grabbing hold of the tools which He has given to me to make a difference with boldness and determination?

Two-year old Mary gets help from her big brother Samuel when climbing the steps up the dune from the Lake Michigan beach. Then she has fun with the cottage door. Simple pleasures. . .

Trusting, hopeful, joyful, determined, bold, sassy. . .

Mary wrote a letter to herself a few weeks before her life ended due to a truck crash on May 4, 2013. One of the things she said in the letter she meant to read in ten years,

“I hope that I am living every day as if it was my last.” Mary Lydia Karth, Age 13

After too many hours of working on “truck safety issues,” I need a breather. So frustrating.

The thought that I woke up with this morning was: “Lord, help me to know what to write and say. I can’t make things safer; only You can, so please guide me.” Then, the song came to mind, “O Lord, You are the one who goes ahead of me.” I wrote the song years ago–based entirely on verses from the Bible.

“O Lord, You are the one who goes ahead of me. You promised to be with me, never fail me or forsake me. So I will not fear or be dismayed or become discouraged, for I know, O Lord, You always go ahead of me.”

Immediately, that felt like a black hole. Didn’t want to go there. My trust in His promise/ability/whatever to protect us physically had become shaky after a truck crash killed AnnaLeah and Mary. No guarantees. I trust You, Lord. But. . .

Then, I read my Bible while eating breakfast. Like always.

Guess what I opened to. . .

2 Chronicles 32:7, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude which is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him.”

With a cross-reference to: Deuteronomy 31:8, “And the LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Gotcha! Thanks for the reminder. Again. Even if I struggle with fully trusting, it is comforting to know that He always knows my very thoughts and needs.