I chaperoned my daughter Jocelyn’s field trip yesterday.  It was held at a nature center recently developed in our town.  Both of the Pre-K classes from her school were included.

     It was total chaos as the thirty-five kids waited outside the center for the field trip to begin.  Their excited energy had them jumping off rock walls, running after each other on the sidewalk right next to the oncoming cars, and moving and grooving like only four-year-olds can.

     The last car to pull up had one of the little boys in it that I was assigned to watch over.  Knowing he was a shy kid, I approached the car, welcomed him, and led him over to the chaos.  He looked around at all the crazy movement, and then looked up at me.  With his big brown eyes wide open, he timidly asked, “What do I do?”

     I gently took his little hand and led him over to a calmer group who were watching water spray through a solar powered spigot.  Then I turned to the mom next to me and said, “I feel like that a lot.  I wish I had a chaperon that I could turn to whenever I have that question.”

     At the time, I was talking about having my own personal chaperon for those chaotic times: someone who would take me by the hand, lead me to where I am supposed to be, and explain what I am supposed to do next.  Now, a day later, I realize that I do have that.

     God is my chaperon, always and everywhere.  Having been a big risk taker in my pre-kid days, I can clearly see that He watched over and protected me constantly, even in the precarious and crazy situations I put myself in.  Now, as a mom, I can clearly see that any and all right choices I make parenting my kids are Him “instructing and teaching me.”

     But it’s in the chaotic times that I still really struggle.  That’s when I yearn for an “in the flesh” presence.  I want to feel God take me by the hand and lead me.  As He counsels me, I want to see His face and hear His voice over the roar of the madness.

     That’s what makes prayer absolutely essential for me.  I need to spend time with God, in a quiet space, on a daily basis.  I need to listen to His voice in the quiet so often, that my ears can recognize it, and tune into it, even if it’s just a whisper in the midst of the chaos.

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