Traveling Light

Addison gazed at the glistening night sky and frowned. This family camping trip hadn't cheered her up a bit. She still felt sad about all the terrible things going on in the world. She sniffled when Mom came and sat beside her on the large tree stump. "I don't think I'm going to pray anymore. It doesn't seem to be making a difference." Mom took a wrinkled tissue out of her jeans pocket and gently wiped away Addison's tears. "Don't give up. Sometimes it takes a while to see our prayers answered." "How much longer will it take?" asked Addison with a deep sigh. "It depends. God answers prayer in His own time. Some prayers get answered in a day, some in a month, others take years. In fact, many of the blessings we enjoy today are the answers to people's prayers from long ago." Addison's eyes widened. "How can prayers prayed long ago be helping us today?" Mom pointed to the night sky. "See those brilliant stars we're enjoying tonight? Astronomers say that when we look at those stars, we're seeing light that took many years to reach our eyes." Mom pointed to a bright, twinkling light in the sky. "See that star? That's the North Star, and the light we see coming from it right now started its journey to earth hundreds of years ago." She smiled at Addison. "Now, I'm not saying you have to wait that long to see the results of your prayers, but sometimes there are prayers that take a long time to be answered. It's even possible you won't ever see the result of some of your prayers, but the light of those prayers will eventually reach the hearts of those they're meant to help." "Just like the light from the North Star eventually reached us," said Addison. "Exactly. Even though God doesn't always answer our prayers when or how we want Him to, we know He cares about what's going on in the world and about people who are hurting. He's at work, and one day Jesus will make everything right. Until then, we can trust Him to answer our prayers in the way and at the time He knows is best." Addison relaxed and observed the beautiful starry night. "I'm going to keep praying," she said thoughtfully, "because someday I know it will help someone." –Suzanne Daly