Page 61 of Sing with Me

“Not at all. We live in a complicated world, but God cares and knows what we are going through. He cares so much that He sent Jesus Christ to save us from our sins in this corrupt world. In Christ we have peace that surpasses all understanding, and in Christ we have faith that can endure any trial because ultimately, He is with us.”

“Why didn’t He prevent Mom from dying then?” Elisa seemed eager to hear it now.

“I can tell you that God always answered your prayer, although not always the way you want to hear it. It can take time before you see the answer. In my case, it took ten years.” Skye braced herself. She usually did not like to talk about her parents’ last moments on earth, but this time, she felt that it was necessary to revisit it for the child’s sake.

“I want the answer now.”

“I mentioned that I wasn’t ready to hear the answer for ten years,” Skye repeated.

“I’m ready now.”

“Only God knows when you’re ready.” If at all. Skye decided to keep it simple for the twelve-year-old. “Someday, God may tell you exactly why. Or He may not tell you for a long time. I can say that you look way more mature than I was at your age. So you might be readier than I was at the time to hear big things from God.”

Elisa didn’t respond.

“In my time of greatest need, God answered my cries with Himself.”

“Can He do that?”

“He sure did for me. I felt his presence the entire time we learned about the car wreck. At that time I had only been a Christian for two years. My brother had been a Christian longer. He prayed with me, and he held my hand through the funeral and graveside burial. By God’s mercy, we went to live with my aunt and uncle—down the road from our old house—and they took us to church and comforted us for years.”

“Is God going to answer my prayers with Himself?” Elisa asked.

“In times of our great grief, God is all we need. Later on, we will learn more and more about the situation. Why this, why that, and so forth. For now, it’s best to focus on God and let Him hug us and comfort us.”

“I don’t feel God right now. He seems distant.” Elisa hugged her knees.

“Come here and let me show you something.” Skye patted the ground where she was sitting.

Reluctantly, Elisa traipsed over there.

Skye lay down on the grass again. Elisa did the same next to her. Skye pointed up, beyond the canopy of the oak tree.

“How funny that your name is Skye,” Elisa said. “Skye pointing to the sky.”

Skye smiled. Another breakthrough.

“Look at the big blue sky up there. Who made it?” Skye said.

“It just happens.”

“Some people may say that, but the Bible says that God created the sky and moon and stars and the entire universe. Genesis 1:1 declares, ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ That’s the first verse in the entire Bible, you know?”

Elisa didn’t respond.

Skye swiped her phone to find the verse she wanted so that she didn’t misquote it. “Psalm 33:6 says, ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.’ Let me read one more verse from Psalm 97:6. ‘The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.’ All that to say that God is huge, bigger than the universe He has created.”

“If you believe that God created it.”

“Right. I do believe, but there is a point I am getting to.” Skye took a photo of the blue sky beyond the leaves of the trees. “Even though God is the Creator of all that we see and can’t see out there, there is something else that reaches that high. You know what it is?”

Elisa shook her head.

“God’s mercy.” Skye read Psalm 108:4. “Listen to this. ‘For Your mercy is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the clouds.’ God, the Creator of the universe, has mercy that go way above the heavens up there, and has truth that pierce through all those clouds high in the sky.”

“We flew through clouds on the way here,” Elsie said. “I can’t remember how high up we went, but Grandpa Ned would know.”

“Higher than that is God’s truth and mercy.” Skye turned to Elisa. “Right now, we need God’s truth about your mom’s situation. The investigators are probably still working on why her car went over the cliff. We will know the truth about that in due time. Meanwhile, God shows His mercy on us because He is helping us go through this grief.”

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