Sometimes, it can be easy to feel like the problems we face as parents are too small for God to notice. We might wonder, “Does God care?” Yet as author and mom of five Ruth Snyder shares in this anecdote, nothing is too small to bring before God our heavenly father.
“God, could you please show me where Levi’s hearing aid is?”
It was an honest prayer, but half-hearted. I knew in theory that God could show me where my son’s hearing aid was, but it had been missing for a week and my faith was faltering.
Tuesday morning, the week before, was the last time I had seen the hearing aid. Levi put it in his ear and then went to school. I had been teaching music lessons when he came home. After supper our attention had been diverted by a plugged toilet that took two hours to fix. Wednesday morning the hearing aid was nowhere in sight.
Levi finds communication difficult at the best of times and questioning him did not yield any helpful information. I wrote a note in his agenda to see if anyone at school knew more than I did. However, Levi had an appointment after school and left his backpack in someone else’s car. I did not see the agenda until days later.
The note from Wednesday: “Levi said he put his hearing aid in his pants pocket.”
I groaned. Which pants was he wearing? Had they been washed? Was the hearing aid even in the pocket anymore? We have three sons who wear close to the same size. I looked through every pocket in every pair of pants I could find. No hearing aid.
A few days later, I received a call from the school. An educational audiologist was at school and wondered why Levi’s hearing aids and FM system were not at school with him. I explained that the left hearing aid didn’t have a functional mold, but we had ordered a new one. Then I explained the right hearing aid was missing. Without hearing aids, the FM system was useless, so it was at home. I also explained Levi was receiving new hearing aids, but they would not be available for another month.
“Okay, but please keep looking for that hearing aid. He’s missing out on a lot of information.”
I decided to take one more look, so opened the drawer that holds Levi’s clean pants and picked up the top pair of pants. These pants had pockets with zippers. I opened the first zipper and felt inside the pocket. Nothing. I opened the second zipper and felt inside the pocket. My hand touched something hard.
I grasped the object and pulled it out—the missing hearing aid. So far, so good. But those pants had been through the washing machine and dryer the day before. Water kills hearing aids. I opened the hearing aid, took out the old battery, and put in a new one. Then I turned the hearing aid on. It worked!
I couldn’t believe it. Not only had God shown me where the hearing aid was, but He had also protected the hearing aid from damage.
Parenting is challenging. Some days it seems like no one understands or cares.
Matthew 6:25-26 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” God really does care.
It’s easy to worry about our children, but God reminds us in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
What lessons has God been teaching you through your child(ren)?
You can find similar readings in Uplifting Devotionals for Parents. Ruth L. Snyder resides near Glendon, Alberta, along with her husband and five children. She enjoys writing articles, devotionals, short stories, and Christian fiction. She is a member of The Word Guild and The Christian PEN. Ruth currently serves as the President of InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship.
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