For the last year, my family has been involved in the task of taking my father-in-law from his independent life in South Carolina and moving him into an assistive living community. There were huge mountains that had to be moved along the way. The biggest was his adamant belief that he was okay and could live alone. As we went through this journey, I did something that I have never done before. I kept a journal. After, my father-in-law was moved into the assistive living community, I did something else I have never done before. I wrote a book.
Yesterday, I commissioned my daughter to draw a picture for the front cover of the book. I also asked my husband to read the book to make sure it was good enough to publish. This is when it all came together. All day long, my husband read the book, editing it in certain places but for the most part keeping it in tact. As my husband read, my daughter drew. Now there is something you need to know about my daughter. She is a perfectionist. With most projects, she will get stuck and want to either start over or make a huge revision. Frustration will typically sit in and a project can turn from fun into a drudgery.
As my husband finished the book, with tears in his eyes, my daughter looked at me and said, “I am not a huge believer but He must have been active today.” I asked her why she thought this and this is what she said, “This was the first time that I can remember drawing a picture of a person that I didn’t become upset with how it was going. Even when I colored the skin which I was truly concerned about, it all came together. It was like there was a higher power in control.”
Coming from someone who doubts there is a God, I was elated that He became real to her. Really real. My only response I could give her was, “This is a God thing. There is no other explanation.” As I have reflected back on how this particular event has unfolded, I can’t help but thank God for making himself visible to all of us in our daily lives. I know he is there. We just have to look for him.