My daddy wanted me to walk with him up a steep, rocky hill. I looked up the slope and saw nothing but boulders, cactus and deep, dry grass. I was terrified, but Daddy promised that I would be happy that I had gone with him because from the top of the hill I would be able to see for miles and miles.

Even though I wanted to go with Daddy I was still afraid. "What if I fall?" I asked.

"Then I will catch you and you will be okay," he said.

"But there is a lot of cactus, I might get stuck by it."

He replied, "Follow me and step exactly where I step. I won't step any place where there is cactus that could stick you."

"But there is deep grass and I can't see into it. What if there is a rattlesnake in there? He might jump out and bite me."

Daddy said, "Like I told you, step right where I do. I will be ahead of you, so if there is a snake it will try to bite me first, then I can take care of it so you will be safe."

Daddy erased all of my fears and I put my absolute trust in him. His stride was longer than mine so I had to stretch my little legs out to stay right in his footsteps, but I did it and we got to the top of the hill safely. There was a beautiful view and I was so glad that I had gone all of the way to the top. I wanted to stay up there with my daddy forever.

Years later when I walked with my dad I still stayed behind him, stepping exactly where he stepped. It wasn't because I was afraid anymore, but because it had become a habit and I was comfortable doing it that way, letting Dad pick the right places for me to step.

There was one time that I wasn't paying attention to where my dad was stepping and I got cactus in my ankle. He picked me up and carried me out of the cactus patch, then carefully took the thorns out of my ankle. He didn't scold me; He just reminded me to watch where I was stepping. That was the last time I let myself get so careless.

When I was a new Christian I came to see that my walk with the Lord is so much better when it is just like the walks I used to take with my Dad.

The hills in my life don't scare me because I have the Lord showing me right where to step.

The boulders don't seem so large and I am not afraid of falling, because I know that the Lord is there to catch me and I will be safe.

The thorns don't look so sharp, because He steps only where it is safe for me to follow.

But if I get out of His footsteps and the cactus gets me, He picks me up, carries me back to where I am safe and removes the thorns. He doesn't scold me, He just helps me to get back into His footsteps.

The "Serpent" can't get me because Jesus went before me and when the snake tried to bite Him, He took care of it.