With My Hand in Thine

My nine-year-old daughter recently had a cavity filled. This wasn't her first time getting her teeth fixed at the dentist's office. On this day she put up no fuss, no resistance. She came willingly to the appointment, settling herself in the chair with confidence. She had just one request for me--to hold her hand throughout the procedure.

Which I did, happily. I scooted my chair closer to her and took her little hand. She was a champ from beginning to end.

As I held her hand while she reclined in the dental chair, I remembered that during this dear girl's toddlerhood she would outright refuse to hold my hand when we crossed the street or traversed a parking lot. She was itty bitty and virtually invisible amongst the cars, but this didn't matter to her. She was independent and headstrong and driven (still is, heaven help me). I would try to prevent her from becoming squashed like a pancake before I could safely let her go. As I recall, I often employed a death grip around her little fist while she tugged and cried to be released.

As she rested in the dentist's chair with her clammy hand in mine (has she always had sweaty palms? I'll have to pay more attention...), I was reminded of a recent "ah-hah" moment.

My family went to Utah to see my niece give her mission farewell talk a few months ago. She's going to make a fabulous missionary, and she gave a meaningful address. When she quoted lines from the chorus of the hymn I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, a lightbulb flashed in my head.

"I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine: I'll go where you want me to go."

The imagery of placing my hand in the grasp of the Lord's was vivid. I knew in my heart that once I give the Lord my hand and accede to follow His will, He never would let me go.

He will never let us go. He will always be beside us.

Sometimes the paths we're asked to tread are rugged and frightening, but He will never let us go.

At times the field in which we're laboring to harvest seems sparse and fruitless, but He will labor ceaselessly along side us.

Often the seas we sail are stormy and the mountains reach high, but He will be our unfailing guide through it all.

The Lord is constant. His love is pure.

Why then, at my lowest times, might it feel like I'm going it alone?

I realized if the connection between the sinner and the Savior ever becomes severed, it is because I let Him go.

I relinquish the companionship of my Guide when I release His hand and seek my own paths. If the trail seems too hard, I cannot seek another without facing unknown perils, which may not be apparent at once. As surely as I sojourn without my Guide leading me by the hand, I will slip, I will fall, and I will be lost.

Just as I would never let go of my little daughter's hand to cross a street or dangerous parking lot, He will never let me go.

I smiled as my girl bravely gripped my hand while the dentist drilled and mended her teeth. Because she knew if I was there with her, she would be okay.

With every new day, let us resolve to place our hands in His unwavering grip. If we go where He asks us to, our hand in His, He will never let us go.