It was the Sunday mass. I admit that I wasn’t paying much attention but looking around at the people there. Even when we get distracted God has a way of reeling us back in. As I was sitting at the back, I was noticing every person walking past, either late or keeping their children entertained. At one point the latter passed by. The verse from Matthew 7:11 came to me.

A dad and his child, just a toddler learning to walk paced the aisle as the dad tried to quieten the child and simultaneously listen to the priest. They came to a sliding door and I watched as the toddler tried to open the heavy door without her father’s help. As expected, she failed to open it alone and I could see the disappointment and tears filling up in her eyes. Instead of giving up and being satisfied with remaining on this side, she stopped, and looked up at her dad in expectancy. Her dad, understanding the look on her face, smiled, picked her up, opened the door and they passed to the other side together.

At that moment I couldn’t help but remember of God’s overwhelming love and the fact that He cares about our needs and gives them to us, provided that it will lead to our good, even if we don’t see it at that moment. I could just see the love of our heavenly Father being reflected onto an earthly father and his child. Just as he picked up his toddler in times of trouble and carried her to the other side in his arms, after asking for help, so will God take care of us and carry us to a place of refuge when we are overwhelmed by life’s worries and stressful problems, as long as we ask Him for it in thankful praise, filled with faith that He can help us so much more than we can fully comprehend.

“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11

Sarah Zammit Munro

Published: March 2017