“But where is he?” The panicked voice was not that of my son, but my own. You see, Eeyore is lost. He is my 4-year-old’s favorite stuffed animal and he has not slept willingly without him since he got him almost 3 years ago.
And now he is lost. Not just ‘I can’t find him’ lost, but possibly, probably ‘packed away and gone to storage for several months’ lost. And momma is worried.
My son, not so much. He shrugs and says, “I don’t know,” as he crawls into bed for nap time, expecting to be reunited with his Eeyore just as soon as mommy finds him. He knows from experience that this is not usually a long wait. Mommy is pretty good at finding Eeyore.
Now already in my head I can foresee the tears and sadness that will overwhelm my son when he realizes Eeyore is gone, gone. Maybe I could go retrieve him. I would have to search a lot of boxes, but maybe he is in there somewhere. Perhaps I could find a replacement and just hope he doesn’t notice that suddenly Eeyore’s head doesn’t flop to one side. All I can see is the worst-case scenario.
This is a catastrophe and the boy doesn’t even realize it!!
But he didn’t freak out. He didn’t throw a fit or worry himself silly. Sure, Eeyore might have been packed away without him noticing, but he’s not concerned. Why? Because he trusts that Mommy will find Eeyore and all would be right in the world.
I wish I could be this way with God. I have seen God take a miserable situation and bring something amazing out of it. I have watched him ‘find Eeyore’ for me time and time again. And yet, my first response so many times is to freak out and worry that I’ll never find what I thought I’d lost.
Hopefully, next time I will remember my son, his Eeyore, and the complete faith he had in me to provide for him. I’ll probably save myself weeks of anxiety and some gray hairs by remembering all the times God came through in the past.
Oh, and Eeyore? He was in the one room that didn’t get packed away, just waiting for Mommy to find him and place him back in the loving (though tight-squeezing) arms of my son.
For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness, give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:10-12