Where's Noah!?

That was the first thing out of my mouth after the movie I saw last week.

I had taken my son and two of my nephews to a movie and when it ended the two older boys told me they were headed to the potty. Little Noah, who is 4, was with me as we exited the theater. When I got out of the theater and took my position by the wall to wait on the potty boys, I looked down and Noah was gone!

Now it's bad enough to misplace your own kid but when you lose one that is not yours, especially a family member's kid, I don't have to tell you how bad that is. I guess what really made me feel bad was that little Noah is so stinkin' cute. Big blue eyes, blond hair and funny as all get out. But the little rascal is as independent as they come and when he gets a thought in his head he will say or do anything.

Does that ever happen to you? You get an idea, a thought, a potential plan and just take off without any thought or real planning or preparation? You react. You move on impulse. Maybe even on instinct or reflex. Is it really that bad? Can there really be any lasting harm from these types of actions?

I'm thinking yes. While I tend to be a spontaneous person, I can't forget the value of thinking things through especially when the lives of others are going to be impacted by what I do. I need to prayerfully consider my actions and make sure that I am following God's lead and not my own impulse or that of someone else. But when I get the green light, I must go with all I have.

One way to make sure that you are not reacting but are indeed responding to God's leading in your life is to make sure that your relationships with Him is what it should be. When you know Him and His thoughts become your thoughts then His ways can become your ways and He will lead you down the right path.

I found Noah in the bathroom doing his business. When he got through I bent down and looked deep into those big blue eyes and told him to never ever run away again. He looked deep into my eyes and with all sincerity said, "Okay." Ahh the simplicity of childhood.