Why Not?

We learn a lot by listening. Wow, what a concept! If we listen more than we talk, we can learn so much. I have learned so much by praying with my children and listening to what is in their hearts. This time was no different.
My Dad owns a cabinet shop. Cutting out doors, panels and drawers is routine for him. On more than one occasion he has nicked his finger with a saw. A couple of times, it was a little more than a nick and required a visit to the doctor’s office. This time, however, it called for a trip to the emergency room. He had cut off his thumb. There was no way to reattach it. So when we prayed with our children, Sophie always wanted to pray for PePa so his thumb would feel better. We prayed that every night for weeks.

After my dad’s thumb had basically healed, other than being a little sore, Sophie still asked God to help his thumb. This one time, however, before we began to pray, she told me that she wanted to pray for Pepa’s thumb to grow back. Before I even thought about what I was saying, I told her that Pepa’s thumb could not grow back. “Why not?” she asked. See, my sweet daughter had been taught that God could do anything…and she believed it. “Pepa’s thumb is gone honey, and if a part of your body is gone, it can’t grow back. But we can pray that God will make all the pain go away.” And so we did.
As soon as I walked out of her bedroom, conviction hit me like an anvil. Who was I to pass on my doubt and unbelief to Sophie? Aren’t we supposed to have “childlike” faith? My heart ached as I knew I had likely just placed doubt in my daughter’s heart about God’s ability and willingness to perform miracles. She didn’t even think of it as a miracle. It would just be God being God. It wasn’t that I didn’t think He could make my Dad’s thumb grow back. I knew He could do anything. I was so accustomed, though, to not expecting miracles that I automatically assumed it wasn’t even something to pray about.
I marched right back into her room and told her I was sorry for telling her not to pray the way she felt in her heart to pray. I told her that if she wanted to pray for Pepa’s thumb to grow back, then that is what she should do. I reminded her that God is certainly able to do it. Now, has his thumb grown back? No. Has my daughter been disappointed with God? No. Whether or not my Dad’s thumb grows back is up to God. Teaching my daughter to trust and believe in God is up to me. Not just by my words, mind you, but by my actions as well.