I have a
friend who was working in his home office one evening, trying to get some
necessary paperwork done. His little girl, who was about 4 years old at the
time, was playing around his desk, puttering about, moving objects here and
there, pulling out drawers, and making a good deal of noise.
My friend
endured the distraction with stoic patience until the child slammed a drawer on
one of her fingers and screamed in pain. Reacting in exasperation he shouted,
“That’s it!” as he escorted her out of the room and shut the door.
Later,
her mother found her weeping in her bedroom and tried to comfort her. “Does
your finger still hurt?” she asked. “No,” the little girl sniffled. “Then why
are you crying?” her mother asked. “’Cause,” she whimpered, “when I pinched my
finger, Papa didn’t say, ‘Oh!’”
Sometimes
that’s all we need, isn’t it? Someone who cares and who will respond with
kindness and compassion, someone who will say, “Oh!” We have One named Jesus
who does that for us.
Jesus
loves us, understands our sorrows, and gave Himself for us (Eph. 5:2). Now we
are to “walk in love” and imitate Him.
God’s
whisper of comfort quiets the noise of our trials. (RBC)
