Reflecting on my parenting years, I’m reminded of my most anxiety and stress-producing incidents. My son, Nate, was probably five or six years old. After leaving work and picking him up from school, we went to the mall to buy him some shoes.
We ate dinner at one of the restaurants in the food court, where Nate received a toy with his meal. After eating, we went to the men’s room next to the food court. We entered the mall when Nate realized he had left his toy in the bathroom.
Because of a mixture of fatigue and laziness, I grabbed a seat just outside the food court and in view of the bathroom. I told Nate to return to the bathroom to retrieve his toy. After more than a few minutes passed, with Nate not returning, I headed to the bathroom to get him. I called his name, thinking he could be in a stall – no response.
I was terrified; Nate wasn’t in the bathroom! In about three seconds, my stress jumped from 0 to 100. Immediately, I started walking through the food court and into the mall, scanning everyone and everything. After several minutes of futile searching, I decided my best course of action was to return to where I last left Nate and pray for his safe return.
To be sure, my fear peaked. Finally, after about 20 minutes, I saw a sobbing Nate holding a young mother’s hand with her children at her side. I profusely thanked the mother and picked up Nate to comfort him. As he sat in my lap, I began wondering how he got lost in what I considered a short trip to the bathroom.
As a young boy, Nate was about four feet tall. Being four feet tall, everyone must have seemed like a giant; he couldn’t easily look over or around the majority of people in front of him. Following the flow of the people around him, it was easy to see how he slipped passed my view and entered the mall, not knowing where to go.
Like my son, at one time or another, all of us face giants in our lives. While they may not be of the physical variety as my son experienced, they have the same objective to disrupt our peace. The giant in your life might be discouragement, depression, alcohol, anxiety, unemployment, loneliness, finances, fear, drugs, pornography, or suicidal thoughts. Tragically, we can allow ourselves to be overcome by these giants.
The young mother who saw my distraught son held his hand, comforted him, and walked around the mall till they found me. Similarly, Jesus Christ wants to take your hand, walk with you, and give you victory over life’s giants. Jesus is bigger and more powerful than any giant that will ever come your way.
The enemy of our souls wants us to forget how big our God is, so he magnifies his negative agents. Jesus sees your giants and offers His hand to you. You do not have to face your giants alone. Have you accepted Jesus’ sacrifice? It is as simple as sincerely repeating the following prayer.
I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, safe, and prosperous New Year.
Gerardo
