 |
|
|
My daughter stomped in through the doorway late in the afternoon and I knew without turning around, that she’d not had a good day at school. Over the years I’d gotten to know each of the girls’ footsteps as they came through that door. I worked at home and counted myself blessed in being able to do so. It meant the girls could have a ‘normal’ life with mum at home and were always able to come home when they needed or wanted, and never had to go elsewhere, sleep in a bed that wasn’t their’s, and could bring their friends home to play any time. I often wondered how other mothers coped but remembered how chaotic life used to be, before I left the corporate world and joined this new world of ‘work at home mums’, or WAHMs as we are called.
“You wanna tell me what the problem is darling?” I called out as she passed the office doorway.
“Nope” came back the reply as she stomped down the hallway towards her room.
Another daughter breezed through the front door and popped her cheeky face inside the office door, blowing me a kiss before skipping down the hallway.
“Know what’s wrong with your sister?” I called out. “I don’t need specifics, just a general idea so I know how I might help” as further encouragement to tell.
“There was a debate on at school about whether God is real” came back the reply.
Oh, oh. I knew that might not be so good. Here at home the girls could feel confident in that love and belief of God, but out in the big wide world, or at least school, that confidence would often fade. They still had so much to learn and experience and they might be outwitted by someone who could twist words or meanings, or have read something our girls weren’t yet familiar with.
I got up from my desk and left the office to follow the girls down the hallway. I could hear voices speaking quietly and knew that one was telling the other I was on my way. I smiled to myself.
I entered the doorway of the first daughter’s room and she looked up at me with tears glistening in her eyes. “She told you, didn’t she?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied, “but that’s not a bad thing. Don’t you want me to help?”
“How can I prove that God exists?” she asked. “We had a debate at school and I didn’t know how to answer that when someone asked me.”
“How do you prove the wind exists?” I responded. “You can’t see it, but you can see the effect it has. You can see the trees and grasses moving, you can feel it on your skin and in your hair.”
“That’s different” came back the reply. She pouted.
“Is it? You know from what you’ve seen at church that God touches people’s lives and how it affects them. Just because the kids at school haven’t seen what you’ve seen, doesn’t make it untrue. And I agree it’s not easy to tell others, especially if they don’t want to know.
“But who is it your friends come to when they need help? Why do you suppose that is? Because there is a quiet confidence in you that they can’t fathom but know is there. Perhaps that’s something else they can’t see, but they can detect and feel it.
“You just keep being you, because God has begun a work in you and one day you will blossom into someone very special that many will look towards, that I am confident of. And do you know why?” I asked her, as she looked up at me with widening eyes. “Because you are a gift that God gave to your father and me, and we dedicated your life to Him when you were born. We have no doubt that you are a child of His but there is still a lot of growing and learning to do, so don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers now. You can still believe and know that God is real, even if others don’t believe it yet… they will, one day.”
My daughter smiled and gave me a big hug and hung on tight. I really felt for her but knew that even when I can’t be with her, our Father is and that He will look after her. Of that I am quite confident.
Philippians 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
|
|
|
