After the Story - Choices Like Rivers - Episode 55

After the Story - Choices Like Rivers - Episode 55

This podcast discusses each chapter of Choices Like Rivers and each episode is posted directly after the book episode. This to Chapter 19 Section 3

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Oh my this was unexpected. For over five years they have lived in captivity and other than Buddy’s axe wound, they’ve had no illnesses or serious injuries. But now, Donna is ill and has no idea what it is.

She is praying. Molly Sue is praying. But instead of healing coming, Donna hears, “Prepare Molly Sue to leave.”

I can’t even imagine how that would have felt. It would have gutted me and I would have been truly heartsick. Molly Sue was only five years old and had never been away from her mom or the cabin. She had no idea of the outside world.

She was young and naive. She would easily become prey to animals in the woods and people in the city. She had no shoes and no idea what to do.

But that was Donna’s answer to her prayer for healing.

Have you ever prayed and prayed earnestly and then gotten an answer completely different than what you were hoping for? An answer that didn’t bring you joy or hope, but sorrow and heartsickness. Did you find out much later that the answer was actually the best answer for you?

I am currently in my sixties. As I look back I see where I often prayed for a certain situation or thing to happen a specific way and it didn’t. But now see it differently and the answer that actually came was a blessing I didn’t perceive at the time.

This is where complete trust and dependency on God comes into play. We have to trust his character is for our good always and that he doesn’t want us harm, and only the best. If we can trust that, then when an answer comes that we don’t want, we can accept it knowing that in the long run, it will be for the best.

God could easily heal Donna and she and Molly Sue could go on living in captivity for the foreseeable future. In fact God could have sent rescue for she and Molly Sue and gotten Buddy help as well.

But had staying in captivity forged something in Molly Sue that she would need for her life? Donna had built the firmest foundation for a young child that can be built. She focused on helping develop her character and minimized the external.

Molly Sue had been taught faith, hope, and love. She was solid. She didn’t covet and beg for things. She found pleasure in the simple things. She didn’t get bored or even know what that was.

There was no arguing or strife in her life, only acceptance and love. And most importantly she knew, really knew, Jesus. He was her very best friend.

Many people might scoff at this. But Jesus loved children and always allowed them to come to him when they were around. He made time for them. Jesus was there with both Donna and Molly Sue from the moment of captivity.

Molly Sue always knew him. There was no one to tell her different. There was no TV or friends to teach her other things. So she learned the important things, the solid life things.

I believe that we can do better with our kids. We could focus more on the solid things of life. We could pattern our parenting on how Donna parented. I know it would give our kids a firmer foundation.

God allowed their captivity. Their captivity also helped Buddy. He learned to read and was no longer lonely. If they had been found right away, Buddy might never have learned to read. Donna had been patient with him and met him on his level.

Donna taught him other things like how to work to earn. Taking care of them gave Buddy a reason to work harder. Their captivity was good for him. He finally had a friend, someone to love and to love him back.

But now that all seemed to be coming to an end. Donna was gravely ill and she knew it. Then she clearly hears it is time to send Molly Sue away. How terrifying that must have been.

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