“Mama, tell me again what it was like when Daddy was here with us.” Six-year old Selah laid her hand on her mother’s arm. Mrs. Albertson hung up the dish towel and they both went into the front room where Liam and Cooper were doing homework.
“What part do you want to hear, Selah?”
“Tell me about a night like tonight, when dinner was over, but I wasn’t in bed yet.”
Looking out the window at the summer evening, Mrs. Albertson said quietly, “You were small, not quite two years old. That was your special time with Daddy. He would take you for a walk or play with you while the boys and I did the chores. When the dishes were done, he’d bring you to me and then he’d help the boys with their homework while I put you to bed.”
Did Cooper have homework?” Selah asked, looking at her ten-year-old brother.
“Yes, Cooper was in the first grade and he was learning to read, just like you are now. Daddy was so proud of him because he learned very quickly.”
“How old was Liam then, Mama?”
Mrs. Albertson thought for a minute. “He was ten years old, just like Cooper is now. He had lots of homework Daddy could help with—especially math.” She smiled at Liam as he looked up from his work.
“I still remember the day Dad’s boss came and told us about the plane crash,” Liam said. “I remember how white you got, and how you cried. But then you said, ‘Thank You, God, for making me ready for this.’ Tell Selah and Cooper why you said that, Mom. I think they should know.”
Taking Selah’s hand in hers, Mrs. Albertson was quiet for a few moments. Then she began: “When Daddy and I were first married we asked God to give us a happy home. We promised to serve Him with all of our hearts and to teach our children to love Him too. When each one of you was born we asked God to help you grow up to live for Him. We had no idea what was going to happen in the future, but we prayed together and asked God to care for us each day, and to help us live for Him.
“The day before Daddy was to come home from his business trip, I talked to Jesus about some extra money we needed to pay certain bills. All of a sudden, in my heart I could hear the words, ‘I’ll take care of you, Martha.’ That was all—but I knew God had said it. I could hardly wait for Daddy to come home so I could tell him. I thought the words meant that the money problem would be solved. But the next day was the day Daddy died in the plane crash. Then I knew that God had told me He’d take care of us when Daddy was gone.”
“Why didn’t God take care of Daddy?” Selah asked.
“He did,” her mother replied softly. “He had a plan for Daddy, and Daddy had submitted his life to God’s will. He knew that whatever happened to him was God’s best.
“And the Lord has taken care of us too. We have everything we need, even though we don’t always get all we want. I’m sure each of you can think of a special time when Jesus was right there to help.”
“Well,” Liam spoke up, “I know that math isn’t getting any easier, but when a difficult problem puzzles me, I just ask Jesus to help me understand—and He does.”
“Mama, sometimes when you tuck me in bed and turn out the light, I lie there alone in the dark and it seems so scary,” said Selah. “Then I say the part of the ‘Now I lay me’ again, where it says, ‘Guard me safely through the night, and keep me till the morning light,’ and Jesus helps me to go to sleep.”
“I sure haven’t forgotten the time on the river,” Cooper added, “when the boat tipped and I fell overboard—and I didn’t know how to swim! Just when I thought I wouldn’t make it, there was that log for me to grab.”
Mrs. Albertson looked at her children with a smile, even though tears were in her eyes. “I’m so glad Daddy and I asked the Lord to take care of us. It’s so much easier to trust God in hard times if you’ve already given Him your heart and asked Him to take care of the future.”
* * * * *
Mrs. Albertson and her children had learned a valuable lesson—how important it is for us to place our entire selves at God’s disposal. The Apostle Paul said to present our bodies “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Romans 12:1). If we do, we can be assured He will direct our future.
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