• Taking Off The Training Wheels (He Runs Alongside Us)

    By: Kristen L. McNulty

    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

    This past Sunday my mom, brother, sister-in-law, three of my nephews and I were outside at my moms house and the boys were going up and down the driveway on their bikes until my oldest nephew, Timmy, asked to have the training wheels taken off his bike. So his dad, my brother Trevor, borrowed some my tools and took off the training wheels and what followed was a beautiful picture that's still stuck in my mind.

    With the training wheels off, Timmy's dad stood next to him, holding the bike steady as Timmy got on. Then they started making circles around the driveway and through the yard. Slowly at first with his dad's hands on the handle bars and before long they were picking up speed and soon it was only Timmy's hands on the handle bars controlling the steering. What struck me is that while Timmy gained confidence and needed less and less of his dad's help to maneuver the bike, his dad stayed there every step of the way, ready to help Timmy if he needed it or catch him if he'd fall.

    To me, the scene that Sunday afternoon was a perfect visual of what the role of a parent is meant to be. And the perfect representation of where God, our Heavenly Father, is in our lives.

    Maybe you have a hard time understanding or trusting God as your Heavenly Father because that kind of love and care seems foreign to you as you never had a dad on this earth provided that love, care and protection. And if that's you, I get it, I was raised by a single mom. But what I've found is if we let the shortcomings of our earthly dads cloud our vision of our Heavenly Father, we're missing out and maybe even misinterpreting the way our Heavenly Father is trying to move in our lives and care for us here and now. The truth is you have a Heavenly Father who loves you and who, if you let Him, will steady you as you go along. And when the moment comes where you're ready to take off the "training wheels" in any area of your life, God doesn't leave you alone but rather stays beside you every step of the way, ready to catch you if you fall.

    So who is God our Father? How can we know what kind of Father he is to us? Well the Bible tells us,

    He loves you as His own child.

    "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him." 1 John 3:1


    He is full of love and mercy, not anger.

    "The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love." Psalm 103:8


    He values and cares for you.

    "Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?" Matthew 6:26


    He gives His children gifts and as His child, you are His prized possession .

    "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession." James 1:17-18


    He's with you every step of the way and He will never abandon you.

    "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you." Deuteronomy 31:8


    And just like the dad who runs besides his child on a bike, there to guide and protect, God watches over you and protects you from harm. As Psalm 121:3,5-8 tells us:

    "He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever."


    The same Father who knit you together in your mothers womb and watched you as you grew hasn't stopped watching over you ever since. It doesn't matter where you go in life or how many mistakes you've made, God your Heavenly Father loves you with an unending love and watches over you every step of the way.

    When you trip He's there with an outstretched arm to pick you up, when you're hurt he's there to heal your wounds, when you're lost he's there to give direction and when you've made mistakes he's there to forgive. His love is endless and is there for you, the only thing you need to do is accept it. Just like my nephew had to accept the help of his dad when he was on the bike, you and I need to stop pushing God away, thinking we can do it all on our own, and instead accept Him into our lives and allow Him to parent us. God is your Creator and your Father, turn to Him, invite Him into your life and you'll find, He truly is a Father to the fatherless and one who will never leave you or forsake you!

    Return To The Impact Devotional Archive