Yesterday Bethel wanted to bring a book in the car on the way to church. I told her no, and she started to cry. Now, our evening services are early, so they basically have to wake up a little earlier and faster than they would with a later service. I say this because sometimes Bethel and Laurel are pretty weepy, even under the best of circumstances, on the way to church.
And Bethel was crying. Laurel was crying for something else. I was buckling them in the car.
Abruptly, I told Bethel, Bethel, if you ask for bread, I will not give you a stone.
The car grew instantly quiet.
If you ask for a fish, I will not give you a snake.
More silence. I’m sure they’ve heard these words from Scripture before, but it startled them. I explained that mommy gives good things to her children. But we don’t always know the whole story. I explained that the book Bethel wanted to read was large and some pages were tearing out. Bringing it in the car would damage it further.
Then I explained that God always gives good gifts to his children. If we think we’re getting a stone or a snake, we don’t have the whole picture. We must trust that God, who knows the whole picture, knows what is good for us.
We buckled up, and went to church happily.
Great! I need to remember that one!