Do you remember as a child being scared at night? I certainly do! To "protect" myself I would pull the covers over my head, making sure not even so much as one hair was exposed--as if keeping everything under that simple, quilted piece of fabric would shield my life from doom. Then, as I would try to get my voice to call out “Daddy!” fear would grip my throat and little more than a whisper would escape. After several attempts I would finally be able to force out enough of a screech or a shriek to awaken Dad, and Mr. Rescue would be on his way.
Well, times have clearly changed. Don’t get me wrong—children still get scared at night and call out for Dad, but it’s different now. At least it was different at my house a couple weeks ago....
...One of my children became scared in the dark and, rather than call out for me across the house, simply picked up her cell phone and called me on mine!
It was almost midnight, and I had just drifted into the first level of a dream-filled snooze when my cell phone rang. I careened out of bed and went stumbling and bumbling into the kitchen where my phone was recharging. Of course, I couldn’t read the caller i.d., because my “eyes” were back in the bedroom “resting” on the bed side table. So, though I answered the call with “Hello,” I was actually thinking, “It’s midnight! Somebody better have died!”
“Daddy,” a trembling voice responded, “I’m too scared to come across the house. Can you come get me?”
Now, I wish I could say I immediately went in and saved the damsel in distress, because it would preach a lot better that way. But, I can’t. I did go get her and offer her the comfort of my presence for the night, relocating her to a pallet of blankets on the floor beside my bed. But, my initial response was far from “fatherly.” I was nothing short of ticked! (My daughter has given me permission to tell this story as long as I admit that I got mad at her for calling me on the cell phone.)
Of course, my failed initial response reminds me of Jesus’ encouragement concerning the trustworthy protection and provision of our Heavenly Father. Speaking to a group of men, He said, “If you being evil (uh, there’s my cue) know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more so does your Heavenly Father….” (Matthew 7:11). Indeed, not only does our Heavenly Father not get angry when we cry out to Him, He neither stumbleth nor bumbleth in responding, and He certainly doesn’t need caller i.d. to recognize the voice of the one crying out. If we could just somehow get our fear-gripped voice of faith to work enough to cry out to Him….
After my daughter had settled on the floor of our bedroom and after I had apologized for my initial angry response, something kind of sweet did happen, though, and it redeemed the whole experience. The lights were back out, and in the renewed quiet of the dark we began to laugh. It started with her giggle and quickly became contagious laughter as we pondered her creative use of technology. We laughed off and on for several more minutes, thinking we were surely done only to be jump-started again by one of our snickers. Finally, after a long cessation of the giggles, my daughter said with a sleep-filled softness, “Thanks Daddy.”
“You bet! Anytime,” I said. We slept well.
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