Alone?

“Emily, I am going downstairs to do the wash.  Do you want to stay upstairs or come down with me?”   I inquire to the four year old playing ponies in the living room.

“I will stay up here, Mommy.”   She quickly replies.

“Okay, I will be right back; I am going downstairs right now to fold the wash”

“Okay, Mommy.”

Less than two minutes pass as I make my way toward the washing machine, wading my way through various stuffed animals and Lego creations that litter the family room floor in the basement.   As I open the dryer door I hear a startling scream of “MOMMY!  MOMMY!”

As I dash up the stairs a flood of various scenes run through my mind.  Missing fingers, broken bones, bleeding heads, any number of horrible things that can happen in a short two minutes time come to mind. 

“Emily!  What is wrong?  What happened?”  I take a quick survey of the room and my daughter and there are no large pools of blood to be seen so my muscles start to loosen.

“Nothing Mommy, I just didn’t remember where you were and I got scared.”

Phew.

I find I often feel lonely.  Partly because I stay at home and only one of the three kids are not in school full time, partly because my husband works long hours, partly because most of my friends work during the day, but mostly because I forget to look up.  I forget that God is with us when we need and when we don’t.  I forget that even when there is no one to call because they are all too busy to listen to my latest story or just to talk to someone that is older than four, God is happy to listen and he even responds if we are willing to listen and read his word.  We needn’t feel lonely, scared and scream to find him because God is “folding the wash” and ready to come when we call, desperate or otherwise.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."  Deuteronomy 31:6