God Will Make A Way

Can I share a story?

Once upon a time, there was a Father. This Father owned lots and lots of land and property and had a thriving business. He had a little girl whom He loved very dearly and He would make time for her anytime she wanted, but He also knew that she would be overwhelmed by His power and the honour that others gave to Him if He were to keep her by His side all the time.

So He designated a pretty little cottage in a peaceful sunny field for her to live in, and would come and visit her from time to time. The Father appointed many people to help take care of His little girl; a Nanny and a Guardian and a Tutor and many, many other people who helped to keep the world of the little girl warm and sunshiny. The little girl had everything she needed and sometimes was even given a little more sweets than were strictly necessary, because the Father loved her so much and wanted her to be happy.

Ever since this little girl could remember, all the people around her told her of a Treasure the Father was reserving for her. It was told to her when her hair was being brushed; it was sung to her as she swung on swings in the sunshine; it was whispered to her as a lullaby before she fell asleep at night. Nobody knew what this Treasure was, only they knew it would be given to her in due time, and that it was absolutely certain that it would be given to her one day. But this made the little girl wonder and wonder about it as she ran about day by day, and the leaves on the trees in the little wood nearby whispered many things to her as she played next to it. None of these leaf-whisperings were true, but the impatient little girl clung onto them because she wanted so much to know what it was.

Now everyday the Father would want to come and be with His little girl, but being only a very young and restless little girl, she would often forget to meet Him, or despise her homework and run away to play and forget about meeting Him, or only stay a few minutes before she would get fidgety and run out of the room. But when she did remember, she would love that time spent with her Father, because He was loving and firm and helped her to grow just that little bit bigger than she was before. Yet the fickle little girl often forgot this wonderful time spent with her Father and ran about her own business, avoiding her homework as much as she could even though she knew it was good for her.

One day, the little girl came across a room on which there was a sign saying "Do Not Look", but being an incurably curious as well as disobedient little girl, she pushed open the door a little way and peeked in. There she saw her Father against a bright light, and He was standing in front of a velvet box labelled "For My little girl" which was wide open. In one hand He held a sparkling gem, and the brilliance of that gem caught the little girl's breath and took it right away. It was so beautiful, that gem, and the little girl wanted it very, very badly. She tried to pull herself away from the door because she knew she should not have been so sneaky, but her eyes had been caught by the sparkling gem and by her own will she could not turn away. She tried to go no further than the door, but the more she stood there the less she could control her feet. All the while the Father stood there gazing lovingly at the gem in His hand.

Suddenly, the little girl could take it no more. She dashed forward and grabbed the gem from the Father's hand, and without waiting for Him to say a word, she ran away to her hidey-hole to hold the gem up to her face and look at it closely. Away from the Father's light, the gem shone less brilliantly, but it was no less beautiful and the little girl admired it very much. Maybe, she thought, this was the Treasure! It was very, very precious to her and from that day on she vowed not to let it out of her possession.

The Nanny and the Guardian and the Tutor and all the other people who heard about what the little girl had done came to try and persuade her to return the gem, but she refused. After all, hadn't the Father meant to give it to her? She was sure He had taken it out of that box and it was going to be for her, so why shouldn't she have it? Besides, the Father never told her to give it back, not even when she met up with Him in the days afterward. So no matter how much they scolded her and tried to punish her, she believed that the Father meant for her to have it and she held onto it tightly because it was the first thing that had meant so much to her. It was her Treasure, after all! What right did they have to take it away from her? Besides its great beauty, it held the Father's love for her, and so it was very very precious to her.

But gradually she began to remember the sign on the door, and that she had disobeyed it. She also realised that she had vaguely seen other boxes around, that might not have had her name on them. Couldn't the Father have meant this gem for someone else? And might she be stealing this gem from someone else? The little girl was torn, because the gem was so precious to her but at the same time she could see how precious it would be to someone else. It would be terribly unfair of her to keep it away from that someone else.

Slowly the little girl remembered other details of the scene. She remembered that as she dashed forward to grab the gem, she had seen in the Father's other hand a chisel, held as if it was about to keep shaping the gem. She looked at the gem and thought that it looked beautiful as it was, but she knew that the Father's taste was much better than hers and if He was going to continue shaping the gem, it would turn out more beautiful than before, perhaps the most beautiful gem in the world. By taking it away, she might have interrupted the Father's work! How could she, a mere little girl, do that to her almighty and ever-loving Father?

At this thought, the little girl could stand it no more. She took the precious sparkling gem from her hiding place, and made a decision that she would return it to her Father. The decision was very painful because the gem was so very precious to her and it had made her so happy for a few precious days. But she knew that she would have no peace until she knew what the Father wanted to do with the gem.

And so she went, step after painful step, down the hallway to the room where she knew her Father would always meet her, no matter what time of the day it was. "When I get before my Father," she thought, "I will open my palms and hold the gem up to Him and tell Him that I am sorry I snatched it from Him that day. Maybe He will tell me this gem is not for me and take it away, and that He has something else for me that is the true Treasure I am supposed to have. I will be very sad, but I will know that I am doing what my Father pleases. Maybe He will tell me that it's okay and that He meant for me to have the gem soon anyway so I can keep the gem now. I will be very happy, and I will be happy that I am doing what my Father wants. Maybe He will tell me that yes, this is the Treasure for me, but because He is not done chiselling it yet, He will take the gem back for now and I will have to be patient and wait until He is done with it. But whatever He does, I have to remember that this gem belongs to my Father and it is only mine if He makes a gift of it to me. And I must not allow my fingers to tighten around the gem if He is going to take it away. I must give it up to Him entirely, because He knows what is best for me."

And so the little girl goes, step by painful step, down that long hallway to the room where she is to meet her Dad. And she prays, fervently, for the strength to open her fingers one by one in order to offer the gem fully and willingly to her Father and say to Him, "Not my will, but Yours be done."

Ok I stopped writing the story there :) Haven't decided how to end it. Somehow, "gem" reminds me of To Kill A Mockingbird, and I laugh at the thought of Precious Jem. Teehee! :P

Can I share a song?

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways
We cannot see
He will make a way for me

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way
He will make a way

God will make a way. I only have to Trust and Obey. :)

Precious Jem... remember you are beautiful to God. And to me.