Redeeming the Dock

Redeeming the dock...what the heck does that even mean? Well, you would have to know the story behind it first. When you think of a dock, you probably think of water, boats, a stopping point or resting place. Recently, I've had an ongoing encounter with the Lord where we're standing on a dock that's actually rather long and stretches a ways out from the shore. We stood hand-in-hand as I watched a boat sail away. The boat can represent different things, but for me it mostly represents a voyage. While someone or something else may actually be on the boat, the voyage or journey for us still on the shore is in the process of waiting for it's return.

I think there are many times in life where we feel like we're standing at the end of the dock watching someone or something dear to us drift away into the ocean (carrying a piece of our heart with it) until we can't even see it, and yet we still stand at the edge of the dock watching, waiting, hoping...maybe it'll come back. And after awhile we think...maybe it won't. There's always that possibility isn't there? Letting go of something you're holding tightly to - a dream, a family member, a promise, a word - always carries the risk of not coming back to you once you let it go, and sometimes the dock can be disappointing; the waiting can be tough. But I'm discovering that who you're waiting with can make all the difference.

The Lord keeps bringing me back to the picture of this dock and each time there's another part to the story. When I encounter the Father I'm always a little girl around the age of five, full of life, joy, freedom...all of the things He sees when He looks at me, and I've actually never had a disappointing moment with Him during those times. But this time was different. I stood with Daddy God at the end of this dock, I had a stuffed bunny in one hand and I took His hand with the other and slowly turned to walk away from the end of the dock back towards the shore. Even though I was holding His hand and everything is always ok when I'm with Him, I walked away with my head hung low, dragging my bunny behind me, and I realized that it was ok for me to be with Him and still be disappointed.

Up until this point the dock had been a place that was tough because it meant saying goodbye, but there was also the expectancy that there would soon be a hello; however, after days of waiting (and even longer for some) the dock can turn into a waiting place of disappointment, sadness, and grief, and I feel like there are a lot of people who have watched the boat sail away with disappointment but still had a glimmer of hope, and now the glimmer has disappeared with the boat. I know, super gloomy, but you should know by now that I don't typically write unless there's a turning point...there's always a turning point to a good story, or at least that's how I prefer them.

So tonight as I was sitting with the Lord, He brought this picture of the dock back to me and added to the story. My five-year-old self walks out on this dock of disappointment and sits down at the end dangling my feet above the water, and I'm holding on to a small treasure chest about the size of a music box. The Father comes and sits down beside me and asks me what's inside, and I tell Him it's all that I have to offer. He takes it, opens it up, and shows me the things inside that I didn't even know were in there. He looks at them with a smile and I know that He treasures them more than I do. The previously disappointed five-year-old dragging the stuffed bunny behind her now looked into her Dad's face and then peered over the side of the small treasure box with the biggest smile ever. This me - the me that is a daughter of the King, that's such a kid and totally free, that rests in the arms of a good Dad - trusts Him completely. We sat at the end of the dock dangling our feet over the water; He held my treasure box, and we watched the stars pop out from hiding as the sun began to set. And in that moment I felt like the Holy Spirit said, "I'm redeeming the dock."

There are things that many of you have been waiting for and the waiting has been tough and disappointing, but the things that you've watched leave that dock and lost hope for their return mean more to Him than they do to you, and your most cherished items in your treasure box mean more to Him than they do to you. So for those who have walked away from the dock dragging your bunny behind you with head hung low and a disappointed heart, He's redeeming the dock and He wants you to wait with Him again with hope, anticipation and expectancy of what will return when the sun rises tomorrow. He's the best person to wait with...start hoping again as He returns to you the joy of trusting Him like a kid - His kid.