You will remember my friend Ken who travelled with me in West Africa.
He shared a story that is too good for me to not share it with you.
His, thus Yours,
Stuart
I have an amazingly beautiful and smart little lady in my life. She has a sense of adventure that knows no fear and shows more determination than a professional athlete. I am constantly surprised by the new skills she challenges herself to learn, the obstacles she struggles to overcome, and the absolute trust she has that I will be there to support and encourage her. She blesses me with her enthusiasm as she proudly presents me with her accomplishments. She returns my encouragement and congratulates me on my own accomplishments. She quickly asks for my help in difficult situations, but she does not ask me to take away her problems. She only wants me to help her overcome them.
My toddler, Hope, age two, is constantly teaching me about her faith and trust. I have been so blessed and learned so much from her. Among the more powerful lessons she has taught me about Father God, is her example of our relationship as father and child. She completely trusts me, so much so that it has caught me by surprise several times. She believes I can fix anything, clean up every mess, answer every need, part every ocean and have her walk across on dry land. She believes that my every waking moment deserves her undivided attention. She believes that I am excited to spend my moments with her, just as she is excited to spend her moments with me. She believes that I will gladly come with her anytime she takes my hand and tells me, “come on daddy!” Sometimes she kicks me out of my favorite chair so she can take it. Other times she sits with me and pleads with me to hold her. I enjoy responding to her on her level. I follow her will when it does not result in putting her in danger. I provide her with every freedom and challenge she is able to handle, but I factor in my being right there with her as part of her ability. It is my joy to watch her develop her personality and interests, so it is also my joy to enable her.
Our relationship has been growing and changing as she is more confident and more capable in some areas and growing into other areas. She has learned that I can get her things she has asked for. I can answer her questions. I can help her when she asks me, and I can go with her everywhere she can go. Our relationship has entered the realm of my responses to her wishes. She has discovered that I consistently say yes to certain things, like when she asks me to hold her. She has also discovered that I consistently say no to other things, like when she asks to play in the street.
But this last weekend I learned something new from her and Holy Spirit. We were all camping with the family and two others families, having a wonderful time and exploring the kingdom of God together. It was dark and cold outside and time for Hope to go to sleep. Except that, Hope did not want to go sleep. Recently, Hope has determined that she does not like sleep or having to go to bed, and all the fun we were having with everyone at the camp-out did nothing to help her decide that she should go sleep on this night. She cried, and tears poured down her little bright cheeks. We held her and spoke softly to her and did all the things we knew to do to calm and comfort her. After a good long while, we were able to get her to lie her head down and close her eyes to go to bed. We quietly tiptoed away. Gently, very very gently, we walked across the camper. We opened and closed the door in a whisper, walked over to the inviting glow of the campfire, and joined our friends while my little Hope went to sleep. No one is allowed in the camper when the babies first go to sleep. It is a fragile moment when the risk of awakening them is very high and carries the consequence of an unhappy little one. They have slept long enough that getting them back to sleep is more of a challenge than usual. In our home, whoever wakes a baby must also get them back to sleep.
After enjoying the fire and giving Hope plenty of time to fall into her deep sleep, I risked entering the camper to get a glass of tea. I was whisper quiet; I even took off my shoes. I got out my glass, opened the fridge and got out the tea. I poured myself a drink and set the tea back inside the refrigerator. All was well, not a peep from the sleeping babies. But, as I set my hand to close the fridge door, little Hope stood up and walked to the edge of the bed. She looked at me and smiled a big beautiful smile, and then she asked a question. “Daddy, can I have a drink of milk?” There are moments when my little ones catch me off guard, and this was one of those moments. If I told her no, I had the distinct impression that she would burst into tears. If I told her yes and got her a glass of milk, she would have gotten her drink and then burst into tears when I put away the cup and sent her back to bed. I was stuck. There was no answer I could give her that she would accept. No matter how I answered her, it would have resulted in her distress. Right as I was pondering over how to serve my little Hope, Holy Spirit asked me if I had considered not answering her at that time. Well, no Holy Spirit, I had not considered that, but it sounds like the best option.
So I closed the fridge. I did not acknowledge that I had heard Hope’s question. I did not explain to her that daddy hears you and loves you. That of course daddy will get you a drink, but right now is not the time. I just closed the fridge and made myself a promise that I would get her whatever she wanted to drink in the morning as soon as she woke up. Then I walked away, and little Hope went back to sleep. She did not cry or fuss. She just laid down and closed her eyes.
There are times when we ask Father God questions about things or for things and it seems He has not heard us. But, your Father is never away from you. He is attending to you with intense and loving attention. You are never alone or apart from Father in any way. All of His answers are an act of mercy; that is His nature.
Little one, that would not be good for you. Little one, yes you can but not right now. Little one, there is no answer I can give that you will accept right now.
What a wonderful thing to be a child of God. Even those things I cannot have right now, He holds in His heart for a time when it will bless me.
There are so many ways I will support and bless my little Hope. I spend much more time thinking about her future than she does. I know how to give her good gifts at the right time. How much more does Father God know how to attend to you?
With love,
Ken
His-Family 