Sweet Sister

Since Clara Anne has put her trust in Jesus and been baptized, she is fond of reminding me that now our relationship is not just mother-daughter, but also sister-sister in Christ. Though she knows that she is still under our authority as parents, it seems to bring a special comfort to her heart to think of John and I as her brother and sister as well. It's just another way that I'm reminded of her growing up!

Last week, I received a very distressing phone call. A friend was calling, upset and angry, crying on the phone about a certain situation. I had been in the middle of reading aloud to the girls, we were all comfortably ensconced on the couch, and so Clara Anne was at my side. As I began to talk with this friend, Chloe and Christin wandered off to play with something else but Clara Anne stayed near me. I was doing my very best to understand what this friend was saying, since she was so upset and wasn't making any sense. Worse, since it was all happening in the local language, and over the phone, I was truly having difficulty understanding. Then, when I did understand the things she was saying, I was having a hard time knowing how best to respond, since her words were very accusatory and angry. I felt the Spirit's support and help as I tried to respond with loving truth.

This went on for 40 minutes, Clara Anne staying by me all the while. At the end I finally had to go...it was time for Christin's nap, she and Chloe were starting to get into trouble, I simply couldn't stay on the phone. But as I hung up the phone in shock and disbelief at what had just happened, I didn't say anything at first, I just started getting Christin ready for her nap. And as I went into the bedroom to help Christin get settled, Clara Anne came to me and said, "Mommy, I was praying for you the whole time." I then promptly burst into tears, hugged her tight, and literally cried on her shoulder for the next few minutes as she hugged me in the tightest squeeze her five year old little arms could do.

We talked for just a minute about the fact that the phone call was difficult (she knew that already from listening, her local language comprehension is better than she lets on!) and that we needed God's wisdom to know what to do about it. I thanked her again for praying for me, telling her that that was such a big-girl, sister-in-Christ thing to do. She just knew that I needed it!

How thankful I am to see Clara Anne respond to the Spirit's prompting like that! Though the situation was difficult, the Lord brought good out of it with her response. Praise Him for my daughter-sister!