The next path

God gave me a picture a while ago which is very relevant for me at the moment and I keep returning to it so I thought maybe it might bless others too. In a month's time my parents are returning as missionaries to India for a couple of years. I don't want to discuss too much on here how I feel about it (a mixture of pride and sadness!) but I think if you are a parent you must know how valuable grandparents are to the parents and children and be able to imagine how it must feel to have them the other side of the world.

Anyway, the picture was of a father leading a child down a path. He wasn't dragging the child or leading the child anywhere dangerous or bad for the child. He was lovingly taking the child down the right path, where he would be there to protect and encourage along the way. This has been so helpful to me in the times when I just want time to stop and things to stay as they are; I know that despite me thinking that the future is a horrible, scary place, it can't be because my father is leading me there. Or when I am going through a difficult time and feel alone, I know that my heavenly Father is holding my hand through it.

One example of this picture helping was this morning when I came to give Livia her morning breastfeed (the only feed I'm still doing myself) and she completely rejected it. J quickly made a bottle and she was immediately happy again. I made the decision that this was probably the sign that my breastfeeding journey with Livia was over. I did sneakily give her a breastfeed after she had got over her initial hunger with the bottle but that will be the last one. I feel really sad about stopping feeding her, especially as this may be our last baby (who knows!). I miss the closeness and snuggliness of it already. But I feel like God told me clearly that this was to be the last time and blessed me by keeping Chloe asleep until 8am so I could have that special time with Livia! He is leading me on and I know that there will be other special ways I can be close to Livia in the future.

If you are going into a new season or something scary then I hope this picture will bless you. God the most amazing Father is holding your hand and keeping you safe on this new path.