Wandering Wyatt

I have to admit. Sometimes I feel like God.

Don’t quit reading yet. This isn’t one of those “Give your life to God, everyday, for as long as you live. Let God drive your life” stories. Even though giving God complete control of your life is important, this one is different.

This summer I had the privilege of working at a special needs camp in Central Ohio. The campers are some of the greatest and most amazing people I have ever met. It seems like everyday, God taught me something through the campers. Many of the lessons God taught me were things I already knew, but God is making clearer. One lesson God has made clearer is how stubborn I am.

For the last two weeks in July, I had the amazing opportunity of having a six year old camper by the name of Wyatt.

One thing that you must understand is that Wyatt was born with no eyes. Even though he has to live with this, he still has as much energy as any six year old would have. Since Wyatt was born with no eyes, he needs to be told everything about what is in front of him.

Most of the conversations I had with Wyatt went something like this:

“Wyatt, you need to slow down.”

“No. Go fast!!”

Or,

“Wyatt, there is a tree in front of you. You need to come toward my voice.”

Even with my warning, Wyatt will go even faster and run into the tree. Most of the time, he will get right up and say “Again?!?!?!”

Right before he starts running is where I step in and tell Wyatt, “You can’t go that way again. If you do, you will end up hurting yourself again.”

I feel that this is a clear reflection of my walk with God. Sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me, especially when I think about dating. When I let myself do this, I speed to deep into a relationship God may not want me to have.

Many times, I have heard God tell me, “Zach, you need to slow down in your relationship with (fill in girl’s name).”

“No. I want to go fast” I reply stubbornly.

Sometimes, it isn’t a relationship that I want, but a certain sin that is causing me to go down the wrong path.

“Zach, there is sin on the path you are traveling on. Listen to my voice and come towards it” God tells me.

Do I listen and go toward God’s voice? Nope. I start running faster toward the sin. I end up falling into the sin and wanting to do it again. I get back up and right as I am getting ready to go right back into the sin, God calls me again, saying, “No. If you do it again, all you will do is hurt yourself.

Luckily, God doesn’t give up on me after one try, like I have done with Wyatt. He never stops calling me away from sin. God is calling me to come towards His voice.

I find that life gets so busy that I can not hear what God is trying to tell me. Other times, I get so caught up with other people and “toys”. I have found that God speaks best to me when I have no distractions. No cell phone, no iPod, no Laptop. Nothing. Just me and God.

Even when I have no distractions, my stubbornness gets the best of me. Much like Wyatt, I hear the voice, but do nothing about it.

Without God, I would be running into the same tree over and over again, going faster into the tree each and every time. Wyatt may not have liked the other option at that current time, but in the end he realized that it saved him a lot of pain. I find myself in that same position frequently. I want to do what feels good now, not what will be better for me in the long run. I just have to step back and remember that God knows what is best for me ALWAYS!! Not when I think it is right. Not when my friends and family think it is right.

I just have to praise God for not giving up on me and always call my name.

God is calling

Are you listening??