Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

John 14:1 – Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (NIV)

With a new baby due to arrive in September, my daughter and her husband are trying to accustom my granddaughter to sleeping in her own room and in her own bed. Unfortunately for them, one night, just after the little one had settled down and fallen asleep, a violent thunderstorm rolled through the area. After a particularly loud and sudden thunderclap, the wee one came screaming into her parents' bedroom wailing, "Mommmmy," at the top of her lungs. Jumping into bed with them, she dove between them, cowering beneath the covers, crying with great heaving sobs. My daughter, while cuddling her, crooned, "It's only thunder, sweetheart. Mommy and daddy are here. So is Jesus. Just pray to him. Just tell him about it. He loves you and will protect you better than mommy and daddy can." Since then, with every bad dream, my daughter has reinforced Jesus' presence with her as a help and comfort when she is troubled and afraid. Each time she has said, "Sweetheart, just talk to Jesus and he will take away your bad dreams. He loves you and will always be there for you."

Well, can you guess what's coming? The other morning my daughter phoned to tell me of the awful nightmare she had. She had dreamed something happened to her wee one — every mother's worst nightmare. Waking up, she found herself screaming, "Mommmmy!" Quickly going into her daughter's room, she found her peacefully sleeping. With the longing only a mother can know, she gently lifted the wee girl, cradling her in her arms — all while softly weeping. With this, the child awakened. Puzzled, she asked her mother, "Why you cry, mommy?" — to which my daughter explained that she had had a bad dream, and that she loved the little girl very much. With the wisdom of babes, my granddaughter responded, "But mommy, just pray to Jesus. He make it all better. He make the bad dream go 'way."

My daughter had called to say how it touched her to hear that word from God "out of the mouths of babes." She said, "If only I could learn to trust God with such complete and utter simplicity."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, as every good parent loves, cares for, and cradles their child, even so you care for us. Enable us to trust you better, to turn to you first, to love you best, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.