My 7 year old daughter comes into my room a few days ago shortly after I had put the children to bed. My children know that if they have something they need to talk about they can come and talk to me after the others are in bed if they need to talk in private. She had tears in her eyes and wraps her arms around me and cries, "mommy, I miss daddy". At that moment we just held each other and cried together for several minutes. She then laid her head in my lap and I began to stoke her hair and she just poured out her heart to me. "Mommy, daddy always called me princess", "I miss daddy tucking me in at night", "Why is daddy still gone? It's been 7 months!" The questions just began to flow out of her tender little heart. There really is not words to describe how extremely difficult it is to watch your child suffer in this way and not be able to do anything about it. All I could do was keep stroking her hair, listen and offer a few words of comfort. The last question she asked is something I don't believe any 7 year old should have to ask with sincerity. The pain behind each word just tore my heart right open. "Mommy, why does life have to be so hard?" Her life should not be hard at this age. It should be fun, carefree, and she should feel safe. That question signified the loss of innocence and it broke my heart. No matter how much I try to shield them from all this ugliness I can't protect them from it all. I can't shield them from other people's choices that so deeply effect them. All I can do is keep stroking her hair, fight back the rage towards those who have caused her this pain, and tell her we live in a fallen world. Man brought sin into God's perfect world, because God gave man free will to choose to do right or wrong. Unfortunately all too often man chooses to do what is evil in God's sight and we have to live with the consequences of their actions, because the choices we make very rarely just effect the person making those choices. But one day Jesus is coming back to take us to heaven with Him where there is no more pain, no more sickness and no more tears and we will dwell in the house of our heavenly father forever.
As I reflect back on this incredibly special moment I shared with my daughter at a much younger age than I ever dreamed. I began to realize that I may not be able to keep the storms from coming her way, but I can be the safe place she runs to. I can do my best to comfort her as she endures this storm and any others that come her way. And isn't that exactly what Christ does for us? He may not always keep the storms from coming, but He does tell us He will be our refuge and strength and comfort through the storm. He is with us every step of the way just like I will be with my daughter. He is holding us while we cry and letting us know that He is our shelter in the storm. And I would imagine He feels everything I feel when my daughter is hurting, but in a purer form.
