Daddy Obeyed God

A highlight of the trip for Abby was our stop in St. Elmo on Monday where we were able to feed the chipmunk colony. Abby loved her time with those little critters and was secretly hopeful she would be able to return sometime later in the trip.

On Wednesday morning, as Abby ate breakfast, she overheard talk about what we might do that day, which included consideration of a trail that went over to St. Elmo. While we eliminated that hike for that day, the name St. Elmo was in the discussion because that is the direction the trail headed. Abby heard the word St. Elmo and thought we were going back.

Then during the hike that we took on Wednesday, Abby was being carried on her daddy’s back. She said to him, “You have one happy little girl.” When asked why, she said that she had heard talk about going back to St. Elmo and she was one excited little girl.

So her Daddy said to her, “Abby, we don’t have any plans to go back to St. Elmo. We talked about a trail that goes that direction, but that isn’t what we are doing today. It was too far for us to go.”

Abby was very disappointed. Later when Melanie learned of Abby’s disappointment in not returning to St. Elmo, Melanie suggested they pray about it.

Everyone greatly wanted to please Abby’s heart so Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, when the little girls were asleep, we discussed ways to hike and go back to St. Elmo. Nathan and Dad made a plan for just that.

The plan was talked about among the adults during breakfast time and again Abby was listening. Abby’s blue eyes sparkled and her face brightened. She exclaimed, “There was no plan, but now there is a plan!”

Later, she told her mommy, “God told Daddy to go to St. Elmo, and Daddy obeyed God.”

After arriving at St. Elmo Thursday morning, it was very chilly, and the chipmunks were hardly around to eat. Instead of crying and being disappointed, Abby accepted it with a sweet attitude. We hiked, and then came back to try again. This time, the chipmunks were very active and very happy to be fed.

Joseph enjoyed taking pictures; in fact, that guy actually captured over four hundred pictures in a short span of time. As Abby fed chipmunk after chipmunk, I occasionally heard her little voice exclaim, “We’ve got business!” (an expression borrowed from Uncle Joseph)

Later on, when asked how long she fed them? “For hours and hours!”

Abby’s spirit was a lesson to her aunt on my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Think about it. Abby wanted something and instead of pushing and begging her daddy, she prayed, and waited. How often, with the Lord, am I wanting something and not patient enough to wait for His answer? Or, if it’s a “no” am I unhappy about it? Do we want anything less than God’s best for our lives?

Love,
Sarah

The chipmunks were happy too. It was a win-win situation.
Abby
Eating on Abby’s back.

She loved feeding the little guys.

 

Abby was in business.

 

 

Life is good.
Just snoozin’.
The ground hogs were very cute.
Bethany loved them, although she really wanted to hold them.

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
–Matthew 6:26

9 thoughts on “Daddy Obeyed God”

  1. Thank you for that beautiful example of Christian living and joy, may we all have the sweet attitude of trusting children with our Heavenly Father!

    Thanks Joseph for the marvelous pictures, you capture the moment so vividly!

  2. Many thanks to Joseph for sharing his talent with us. The girls are getting so big, and I know they are such a blessing in your lives. Given my impatient nature, I find myself on the whiney side of life sometimes (ahem, a lot of the time) when the Lord tells me to either wait or “no.” Patience is a hard lesson to learn particularly the older one gets which is why I love seeing it fostered in a child as young as Miss Abby!

    Love you all, and I hope you are having some cooler weather for your conference preparations.

    Lori
    >>>>>>>>>>>
    This week has been delightfully cool.
    Steve

  3. Please tell Abby that feeding the chipmunks was my favorite part of a visit that our family made to Colorado.

    We now have a pair of chipmunks living in our yard. So far, they are not interested in any hand feeding from us!

    Susan

  4. Oh, how many times we have sat in that same spot at St. Elmo and fed those chipmunks! Our children love to go there too. It is a highlight of being at Grandpa’s cabin in Buena Vista. So glad you all enjoyed your trip!

    Blessings!!

  5. This week at my church the sermon was on Faith Like a child and your blog reminded me that God wants us to have that kind of faith. It is so clear to little children and somehow as adults we seem to make things more grey while they are very black and white!

    Blessings,
    Tiffany

  6. Is St. Elmo a small town or village within mountains?
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    It is a small old mining town in the mountains.
    Steve

  7. I think that is a great story to tell people! A lot of times as adults on vacation it’s actually hard to relax and be flexible and we’re out of our normal routines and habits so we need a reminder to pause and pray.

  8. What cute cute pictures!!!! Maybe Miss Abby needs a pet hamster…or better yet, a pet Chinchilla!!! We have one named Charlie and he is soo much fun for my girls! (kinda messy though, yuck.) Sooo sweet and heart warming to hear of little Abby’s faith in God. What a wonderful example!! Blessings! Beth

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