One night, after I’d just gotten home from an all-day meeting and was putting my daughter to bed, she looked up at me with sad eyes. “I didn’t like you being gone today,†she said.
Usually, I’m the one who picks her and her brother up from school, but since I wasn’t home, my husband did it. He also did their homework with them and made them dinner. It wasn’t the “normal†routine, and my daughter was a little out-of-sorts.
I explained to her why I had to be gone, and I told her that her dad loves to be able to pick her up from school and help her with her homework, but that didn’t seem to make her feel any better. My day away seemed to have gotten her thinking.
“But I like it when you’re home,†she said, frowning. “Because what if something happens to you when you’re gone? I couldn’t ever live without you, Mommy.†And then she started crying.
Talk about tearing my heart out.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and hugged her. My day away had gotten her worried about losing me somehow.
Even though my daugther’s question was tough, and it made me sad to see her fearful and upset (and to even think about the possibility of not being here for her), it was a great opportunity to talk about God.
Because even though I can reassure my daughter that I’m here for her, and that I plan on being around until I’m old and gray, I can’t promise her that I’ll never die.
Nobody can promise that.
But what I can promise is that, no matter what life brings, and no matter what happens, God is ALWAYS here for her. And that will never change.
“He will never leave you or forsake you.†Deuteronomy 31:6
I love the song “Me and Jesus” by Stellar Kart, and how it says…
“You got me and Jesus,
by your side,
through the fight,
you will never be alone,
on your own,
you got me and Jesus.â€
It’s so comforting for me to be able to promise my kids that they will never be alone. When they’re scared or worried or facing life’s challenges, and even someday when my husband and I are no longer here, they won’t have to stand by themselves. And not only does that make them feel better, but, as a mom, it makes me feel better too.
Because I know God’s got my son and daughter in the palm of His hand.
And He won’t ever let them go.
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