“YOU MEAN I CAN TAKE IT?!”
Tears brimmed. I fought back my own tears.
I watched her bright-eyed wonder as her eyes sparkled like Christmas lights.
Cliff’s cousin had blessed us with a gift card for our kids, and that afternoon, I l’d found a beautiful Rainbow backpack I knew our three-year old, Esther-Praise, would love.
Just before we left Singapore, when we bought our older 5-year old a Unicorn backpack from a simple grocery store to replace her broken one, I watched my 3-year old’s face intently, waiting for an outburst of jealousy, a tantrum, a justification that she deserved the same.
But there was nothing, besides a quiet understanding that her older sister needed a replacement.
This time, her turn had come.
I held back tears as my 3-year old ran back to me, empty-handed.
“Where is it?” I asked. “You put it back on the shelf?”
“YOU MEAN IT’S MINE?” Her eyes, like dinner plates, popped at the incredulity of this new reality.
So often, we’d find something and return it to the shelf because it would be out of our price range.
This time, by God’s provision, we could get exactly what she wanted.
“I FEEL SO LOVED,” she cooed. “GOD ANSWERED MY PRAYER.”
This time, I watched her older sister’s face for signs of envy. Instead, came a deep hug which enveloped her younger sister.
For all the years people have questioned us about our parenting because of hard decisions we’ve had to make financially as missionaries, scaling back on work or serving in humanitarian work and ministry, I’m grateful that God makes His provision as known to us and He does to our little ones.
Every time we had to make a heart wrenching expense, He would find a way to show us He remembers.
Psalm 37:25-29: … yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Turn from evil and do good, and you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the bust and will not forsake His faithful ones…”