Answered Prayer

It was just minutes past bedtime stories and night time prayers.  Daddy carefully cradled her in his arms and carried her to bed, tucking the covers tight around her sweet smile and bright eyes for another night’s slumber. 

“Mommy!  Mommy! I…so…scared!  And I just…so…sad!” she gasps between sobs that shook her little four years old going on fourteen frame.

I rush in to find her bolt upright in bed, holding on to her belly button like a security blanket.  I try to hold her tight, whisper soft hushing sounds in her ear, and tuck her back in with a good night kiss. 

“It’s okay, sweet pea.  You’ll feel better in the morning after a good night’s sleep.”

“No!  I not okay!  I still so sad!” she declares, refusing to be calmed by my simple mending words.

Then I remember.  My mending words are failing because I am offering them from my own flawed humanity instead of grasping His truths that mend with a mighty rushing power.

“Sweet pea, remember how daddy read about God caring for you?  Do you know that He cares for YOU? He is here right now and He wants you to not be afraid.  He says to cast all your fears on Him, because He cares for you.”

“No, He doesn’t!  He’s not here!” she argues, shaking her head back and forth with the force of her stubborn four year old wisdom.

“Yeah, God’s in heaven,” her three year old brother chimes in.

“Oh, but He is here with you too.  He’s in heaven, but He’s also here with you.  And with me.  And with daddy.  He can be anywhere, because He’s God,” I explain.

“No! He not!  I still scared!” she stubbornly refuses once again.

Her daddy walks into our sacred circle and reminds them with the authority of a man who daily seeks His wisdom to lead our home in truth and love. 

“But He does, sweetie.  God is here, with you, now and always, because He cares for you.”

She looks at him with tears still puddled in the corner of her weary eyes and a longing to grab onto this Hope and rest secure in the arms of this God who knows and cares for her with a steadfast, enduring love.

“You know how much mommy and daddy love you?” I ask with tenderness in my voice that comes from a mommy who has watched her firstborn fight for her life just hours after her birth.

“Yes…” she barely whispers out loud, her eyes searching my own for the same Hope her daddy had just offered out loud. 

“God loves you even more,” I whisper back as her daddy holds her tight and nods his head in agreement.

“Should we pray for you?” says the man whose love for our children and even bigger love for the God who gifted them to our care daily takes my breath away.

She quietly nods her head, a fear still lingering in her tender face.

“Dear Jesus, help our Valerie tonight.  She is so sad and scared.  Help her to know how much you care about her and calm her fears so she can sleep,” he prays as we all bow our heads and close our eyes, opening our hearts to His mending words.

As the prayer ends and we tuck her back into bed, a new peace shines on her face as tears give way to a smile.

And as I walk away and ready myself for my own night’s slumber, I breathe in the simple Hope filled truths we have just given to our daughter.  For in one simple prayer we all see how He hears and answers when we call upon His name and lift our eyes to the hills where our help comes from.  

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This post was part of a weekly writing exercise from my participation in The Story Circle, an (in)couragers writing group. It was peer edited by two fellow writers during a Writer's Swap.