For months, my 4-year old, who’s says she aspires to be “a nurse in South America to help people” has been asking for a doctor’s toy set, among a host of other things.
I asked her to pray, not really knowing how it’d happen.
Weeks later, when we bade goodbye to a new 9-year old friend after their play date,
I was shocked when the 9-year old pulled out a box out of nowhere and said, “I want your little girl to have this- it’s brand new and I’ve outgrown it.”
It was a doctor’s toy set- complete with stethoscope, pill bottles and syringe.
I stood there, hair standing on end, as my 4-year old’s eyes widened like wheels.
That night, she hugged it to bed, whispering to me, “Mama, God answered my prayer.”
A week ago, when my daughters wanted chocolate mooncakes, I wanted to splurge. Yet, every bakery we went to had sold out. My little girls, blinking back tears of disappointment, held my hands and prayed with me, “God, can you help us find them?”
On the second last day of the Mooncake festival, my hopes frayed. But that afternoon, when we visited a friend for a play date, the one snack she offered to us was— yes, an exquisite miniature chocolate mooncake.
I blinked back tears as I watched my children’s faces. They, too, knew- God listens.
I am learning, that knowing when to splurge and when to withhold from our children is not a formula. Rather, it’s a minute-by-minute walk with God, asking Him, “What would you have me do to reflect You?”
I’m discovering- that I may not be able to provide for all their wants all the time, but I can always point them to God as their ultimate provider. I may not be able to meet all their whims, but I can hold their hands and pray boldly with them. He is, after all, the best parent they could ever have and hope for. I am just but a steward.