On a recent home visit, a sweet young girl named Emily noticed Mabel had an “ouchie” on the inside of her ear. I explained that sometimes her new puppy sister used Mabel’s ear as a chew toy, and Emily put her little hand on it and prayed. “Jesus, help Miss Lisa, and Mabel Joy’s ear. They are my friends. Thank you, Jesus.” She smiled and told me I didn’t need to worry anymore because Mabel’s ear was “all better.” Her confidence was unshakeable. Her talk with Jesus had taken care of all the troubles, and that was that!
Emily’s illness seemed to have the upper hand, and hospice was in her near future. She wanted to see Mabel Joy, and as soon as we walked into the room, she stretched out her arms to get her Mabel hug. I could barely see the arms for all the Mabel, but Emily needed to be engulfed by unconditional love. Dogs always seem to know when we need them the most, and on this day, Mabel was very much needed. At the end of our visit, Emily held me tight and whispered in my ear, “Thank you for bringing Miss Mabel. She is my new best friend.” As we walked out, she was clutching her stuffed Mabel Joy dog and smiling.
I hurried to the car and sat for a moment, dabbing tears as I thought about my young friend. Mabel looked like she could use a Kleenex too! Emily’s prayer kept playing in my mind all the way home. Even in the middle of her battle and the pain it brought, her faith was strong and her assurance unwavering. There are so many days when I wish for a childlike faith, the kind that gives it all over to Jesus and embraces the peace of knowing it is “all better”. Why is it so easy to lose that as we grow older?
I needed a childlike faith a few days later as I sat in my prayer closet, broken-hearted after a phone call from one of my dearest friends. She had just received the news that test results revealed cancer, and now she faced a terrifying journey. I wanted to think of a perfectly worded prayer that would make it better, and then I remembered sweet Emily’s words.
As I sat in my prayer chair, tears streaming down my cheeks, I also kept it simple. “Jesus, help my friend. She needs you. Please help.” It was all I needed to say. God had it covered. It wasn’t an eloquent prayer, but He knew what was needed, and He was taking care of it. He wanted a childlike faith, and for me to trust He would carry my friend through the journey.
Sometimes, when no words will come, those childlike prayers can simply be tears. The broken places in our lives hurt so deeply that we may not be able to speak what we need. In those moments, God hears us when our prayer is only a whisper, or the tears falling freely. When I think about that kind of faith, I remember my childhood. I climbed trees, ran through the woods behind our house, played in our treehouse, and was never anxious about whether my needs would be met. My biggest worry was if I would get an ice cream before dinner! Because life and all its setbacks hadn’t clouded those moments, my faith was unshakeable.
As I prayed for my friend, I took myself back to that time in my life. No worry or fear, knowing God would always be there for me, and when my arms couldn’t reach, His could. 
In my prayer closet that day, I inhaled deeply and breathed in the peace of His presence. He was with me, and He was with my friend. In fact, He was already on the other side of the journey with her.
For my dear friends who are facing the mountain or walking through the broken moments, I pray you can close your eyes and envision the freedom of who you were before life hit hard and the worries weighed you down. Before the bad news came. Before the struggles made you feel hopeless. I pray that as you approach those trees in your life that have yet to be climbed, you will grab onto a branch like a child, and scale to new heights. I pray what you fear will be replaced with the assurance that God won’t let you fall. You still have “the light of the world” beside you every step of the way. (Matthew 18: 2-4 ESV)