Read: Psalm 56:3-4, 8-11

Nico grinned as his sister lay back on her inflatable raft. “I’m going to pop your float,” he told her. “You’ll sink.”

Maya smiled, unfazed. “My life jacket will hold me up.”

“What if I take the life jacket?” Nico asked.

Maya shrugged. “It still won’t matter. This is the shallow end, and the water only reaches up to my waist.”

“Well then, maybe I’ll just pick you up and dunk you under,” said Nico.

Maya grinned and pointed to Mom sitting at the side of the pool. “With Mom there, I’ll be just fine.”

A while later, Mom’s phone rang. “Time to go inside, kids,” she said after she hung up. “I need to go pick Dad up from work. He just called to say he feels really sick, so I’m going to take him to the emergency room.”

Maya and Nico gave each other worried looks. “Okay, Mom,” Nico said.

Mom was gone quite a while, and when she returned home, Dad wasn’t with her. “What’s wrong with Dad?” asked Maya anxiously.

“We don’t know for sure yet, but they admitted him as a patient at the hospital,” replied Mom. “Hopefully it’s nothing serious.”

Nico felt nervous too. “What if it is really serious?” he asked. “Aren’t you scared, Mom?”

“Of course I am,” said Mom. “But I’m thankful to know that God is in control and no matter what happens, Dad—and each of us—will be okay because we’re in God’s hands. We’ll pray for Dad, and we need to trust God to take care of him.”

“But what if something’s really wrong with Dad?” asked Nico. “How could that ever be okay?”

“Earlier today I heard you teasing your sister in the pool,” Mom told him. “But Maya knew that no matter what you did, she’d be okay because I was there and would take care of her. Well, we can have absolute confidence that no matter what happens, we’ll be okay because Jesus died and rose again to save us and give us eternal life. He will always be with us and take care of us—even if the worst were to happen. We’re safe in His hands.”

–Nance E. Keyes

How about you?

Today's Key Verse

Today's Key Thought