FOR LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TILL THE END OF THE AGE

Dearest gentle reader,

Let me tell you a story.

One summer holiday, Amie and her dad attended a community event to celebrate New Year’s. Among the activities was a game, one that paired fathers with their daughters.

The daughters were blindfolded.

Their task was to walk through a garden filled with massive trees without bumping into any, guided only by their fathers’ voices.

For the first 15 minutes, the fathers could speak freely, guiding their daughters, holding their hands, helping them navigate every step.

Then came the next phase, they had minimal instructions, no hand-holding.

And finally, the last stretch—silence.

The fathers were not allowed to speak…
unless their daughters spoke to them first.

As Amie and her father entered this final phase, something shifted.

Her father watched as she unknowingly walked toward a massive tree. His heart pounded. His eyes filled with tears. He longed to call out, to run to her, to pull her away, but the rules of the game restrained him.

And Amie?

She was afraid.

The silence felt loud.
The path felt uncertain.
And for a moment… she felt alone.

Then, just inches before hitting the tree, she stopped.

“Dad… are you there?”

Holding back tears, he replied softly,
“Yes, sweetie… I have always been here.”

“Am I going in the right direction?”

“No, sweetie… you’re not.”

Panic rose in her chest.
“What do I do?”

At this point, her father could not hold back his tears.

“I have been waiting for you to ask me that,” he said.
“Take a 180-degree turn. Walk ten steps forward. Turn right and take twenty steps. Turn right again, walk a hundred steps, then turn left… and you’ll reach the finish line.”

“But Dad… It’s dark. I can’t see.”

“I am just a question away,” he replied.
“Please remember to ask when you need help.”

And she did.

Step by step.
Question by question.
Trusting his presence, even when she couldn’t feel it.

They won the game that year.

And when she was asked how, she said:

“There was a point where I was scared. I had walked for so long without hearing my dad’s voice, I felt alone… but then I remembered, I could speak. He couldn’t speak unless I asked. So I did. And he guided me all the way to the finish line.”

Dearest gentle reader,

For the longest time, I wondered why the Lord would always end His instructions to me with this:

“For lo, I am with you always…”

Then I began to see a pattern.

In Joshua 1:7–9…
In Matthew 28:18–20… Isaiahh 30:21… Jeremiah 33:3…
And in so many other moments where God sends His people forward, He reassures them of His presence.

Why?

Because growth will sometimes feel like silence.
Obedience will sometimes feel like walking blindfolded.
And purpose will sometimes feel like you’ve been left alone in the middle of a forest.

But you haven’t.

Just like Amie, as you grow, you are invited into something deeper, not just being led… but engaging the One who leads you.

“Daddy, how do I do this?”
“Daddy, what do You think about this?”
“Daddy, are You still there?”

He never left.

He is still there.

Always.

But He is waiting… for you to ask.

Dearest gentle reader,

Are you reaching out?

Or have you mistaken His silence for His absence?

Call on your Father.

He is not far from you.
He has never been.

He is just a question away. Remember: God’s silence is not His absence. He is waiting for your voice.

Till I write again,
Your fellow sister in the faith,
Oluwatosin 🌹