My Girl

Everyone else was asleep as I worked in the kitchen . . . except Charis. I could hear her in her bedroom, having her "quiet rest time." But it wasn't so quiet in there. She was singing at the top of her lungs. I peeked my head inside her door. She stopped immediately. "Can I sing with you Care Bear?" She responded very adamantly to the negative. "How 'bout you come make something in the kitchen with me?" That got a big smile. "I bake with you??" she asked. "Sure, but let's go check to see if anything is ripe in the garden first."

We both love the sun. So we found ourselves sitting on the patio soaking it in as I re-did her hair. She looked so sweet to me that I soon grabbed the camera. Just talking and playing with her, I started trying to capture who she is at this age.

A couple of weeks ago she was getting dressed in the morning and asked why she had to wear clothes. Somehow I just started off into a big long dissertation about how when God created Adam and Eve they didn't wear clothes . . . but then they sinned . . . then they were supposed to die but God killed an animal instead of them and covered them in the animal's skins. "He was showing them," I explained, "that someday Jesus would come and be the sacrifice for them. He would die in their place. His blood would cover their sin and their shame." Later that day, right before lunch, she started asking more questions about death, hell, sin, God . . . I could tell that she was really trying to piece some things together. There was a pause. Then she plainly said, "God didn't do anything wrong but He still had to die because of my sin." When I asked her if she wanted to put her trust in Jesus so that He could cover her sin she said, "Uh hu!" It struck me, when she said it, that it was such an obvious answer to the problem in her mind. Children believe everything you tell them (unless you habitually lie to them). So she just simply believed that, because she had sinned and that meant she had to die and Jesus loved her enough to die instead of her, why wouldn't she want Him as Savior?

And she is healing physically. Which is so less important to us than her eternal soul . . . and yet it is still deeply important. The skin on her torso, which used to be as rough as sand paper, is now softening and healing. Her eyes have more life and sparkle in them than I have seen in so long. I feel as if she is just new all over and it makes me so thankful! She still has a couple of weeks of treatment to go, then retesting to see if the yeast is in a normal range. But I have great hopes of a healthy girl with a healthy gut! :-)

Thankful . . .

for a husband who has prayed faithfully for our children's salvation since before we were married,

for a loving God who softens hearts and opens our eyes to the truth that sets us free from sin and death,

for a God who doesn't give up on us. A God who chooses to love us, in spite of who we are.

for a three year old girl, full of energy and gaining health,

for the technology and scientific knowledge available to diagnose and treat disease,

for every day that I have to answer this girl's questions, guide her in her strengthens, help her in her weakness, and live transparently before her as an imperfect sinner who is growing in the love of a perfect Savior.