The Slide
As I watch
She climbs the steps steadily,
Holding the handrail,
Her two-year old feet following each other
Rhymically, unhesitatingly
To the platform at the top
Where she sits down
And freezes.
Holding tight to the sides,
Knees up, feet flat
She judders down a little way
Then looks up.
Her eyes meet my smile, my outstretched arms -
And she takes her hands off the edge of the slide,
Shooting forward with a squeal of delight,
Trusting the love she knows.
Lord, I have climbed so steadily,
I have come so far, in my own strength,
Holding on, holding back,
Sometimes freezing.
But I am your child,
Today I will lift my eyes
And meet your smile, your outstretched arms,
I will lift my juddering feet -
And take my hands off the edge of the slide
Released to ride, by your Spirit,
Into the freedom of your will,
Trusting the love I know.