“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” Psalm 121:1-2

When Matthew was five and a half year’s old, washing his hair was a major problem. He would sit in the bath while I put shampoo in his hair and then as soon as I tried to rinse the shampoo out he would tip his head forward and thereby cause the shampoo to run into his eyes. Tears would follow as he desperately tried to wipe away the shampoo.

It’s not that I didn’t give him the right instructions. I repeatedly appealed to him to tip his head back in order for his hair to be rinsed. But as soon as I started rinsing his hair, he would jerk his head out of the cradle of my hand, tip his head forward, and have the shampoo flowing down his forehead and into his eyes. The problem wasn’t what I was doing. The problem was that his fear of water overcame his trust in me.

During one of these bathroom incidents I realized how Matt’s struggle was similar to my relationship with God. Even though I know God loves me and is totally trustworthy, when I get in a bind I sometimes take my eyes off Him. That’s when I get “shampoo” in my eyes. And that’s when pain and tears are a result of my actions.

Which is why I tried so hard to explain to Matt that he could avoid the tears if he’d just keep his eyes on his dad. It was that straightforward, and it’s been that basic, in a spiritual sense, for me. It’s all a matter of trust. I need to keep my eyes fixed on the Lord so “shampoo” doesn’t get in my eyes.

The psalmist must have learnt this lesson from his dad. He obviously knew about keeping the “shampoo” out of his eyes. In Psalm 121:1-2 he says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” Psalm 121:1-2.