Christian Living

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Trust
© 2006
by

Stephen A. Peterson


Throughout their early years, Elizabeth learned not to trust her children. Like all children, they made mistakes as they were growing up. Now her children are teenagers. Even when her children’s decisions making seemed to improve, trusting them came slowly, painfully, and, more often, not at all. Elizabeth’s parenting turned into the Elizabeth Investigative Agency—Questioning, doubting, covert investigating, rash judgments, accusations, surveillance. At times, Elizabeth’s imagination would explode into heated accusations based upon suspicions of misconduct. After hours of fifth degree like questioning, Elizabeth, even by her own conclusion, determined she was wrong. However, Elizabeth continued to struggle to trust her children and, indirectly, God. After a month long argument and grounding of her 14 years old daughter for talking to a boy she did not approve of, Elizabeth desired release from her obsessive behaviors and thoughts regarding her children. In the silence of the bedroom, Elizabeth fell on her knees to ask God to show her the way to trust her children by some sign.

While relaxing for a moment following her jog in an Oklahoma City park, she noticed a young girl learning how to skate. Her father momentarily held the little girl by her waist then let her go. The little girl somehow skated too fast and hit the largest tree in the park. She was bruised, frightened and crying as her father came over to pick her up. He hugged his daughter, kissed her on the forehead then encouraged her to try again.

The little girl shook her head then said: “No, daddy! I’m scared! Can you hold me, daddy?” Elizabeth knew how the little girl felt. Within minutes Elizabeth rose to make her way home.

As Elizabeth left the park, she heard the father shout: “Way to go! Atta girl! You can do it!” Elizabeth look back hopefully. Sure enough, the little girl decided to accept her father’s encouragement and try again in spite of getting hurt and her pain. Within a week while Elizabeth went for her routine jog, the little girl called out to her as she skated with ease, “Hey, Mrs. Doyle! Look at me! I can skate all by myself! See!”

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