Dear Mr. McComas:
Please consider the following story for publication in The Christian Journal. It tells the story of the spiritual lesson I learned while on a field trip with my five-year-old daughter. It's called "Right Beside Me." This piece has been accepted by the magazine Purpose and is slated to appear in an upcoming issue.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
In His Service,
Diane Stark
6940 Parrot Road
Brazil, IN 47834
812-448-2896
Right
Beside Me
By
Diane Stark
“Now, Mommy, today when we are on my field trip, I want you to stay right beside me,” instructed my five-year-old daughter Julia.
I
nodded dutifully. “I won’t leave your side,” I promised.
When
we arrived at the apple orchard, Julia clung to my hand – for about four
minutes. Then she spotted a black and white puppy and dashed off with her
classmates to pet him. Moments later, she looked up with a startled
Where’s-my-Mommy expression on her face. She darted back to me and said,
“I told you to stay right by me. But when I looked up, you were gone.”
I
tried to explain that she was the one who had run after the dog, but she
wouldn’t hear of it. “Stay right beside me,” she insisted. Again, I
promised to do so.
But
then the boys in her class began kicking the apples that had fallen from the
trees, and Julia just had to find her teacher to tattle on them, complete with
a wrinkled nose and pointy finger. The other little girls invited Julia
to take a turn on the tire swing, and then she had to dash off to look at a
worm, which had gotten stuck half-in and half-out of a green apple. And
then her little friend had to go potty and you know that little girls can never
use the bathroom in singles.
Between
each of these adventures, Julia would seek me out and shame me for not
remaining by her side. “Where did you go, Mommy? Why did you leave
me? I turned around and you weren’t close by. Why do you keep
leaving me?”
And
while I’m not proud of it, Julia’s questions reminded me of those I often ask
the Lord. When I get too busy with my Mommy adventures, and then I
realize one day how very far away He seems, I ask, “Why did you leave
me?” And when I decide to take the reins of my life out of His hands and
something goes very wrong, I call out, “Where did You go? I need You
right beside me!”
And
I have to remind myself that God promises never to leave us or forsake
us. When I don’t feel Him by my side, I have to remember that He isn’t
the one who walked away. I was. The good news is that He is always
waiting for me to come back. No matter how many puppies I chase or rotten
apples I kick, He’s right where I left Him, waiting for me to return with
forgiveness and open arms.
Diane Stark writes from Brazil, Indiana. DianeStark19@yahoo.com