What if the alarm doesn’t go off, and we don’t make it to the church in time to drop off our daughter for the mission trip?  It was an early morning departure time, and we had an hour drive to even get there, so our alarm was set much earlier than usual.  We would have to leave our house at 4:30am.

God heard my unspoken request, and awakened me two minutes before the alarm went off!  How’s that for a heavenly wake up call?  Thank you, Lord.

It was hard to let our teenager leave for another country!  Even harder than watching her ride away on the school bus ten short years ago. But I know God’s got plans for her, and He’ll use this trip to strengthen her spiritually.

I trust Him, but that still doesn’t make it easy – especially when five minutes before her departure, surrounded by other parents dropping off their sons and daughters, she looks up at me with tears filling her eyes and a quivering chin.  “Mom, I really don’t want to go!”  Oooooh!   How hard it was to hold back my own tears.  “It’ll be okay, Hon,” I say, as I’m praying silently that it really will!

The last minute jitters were getting her.  I wonder if the same thing will happen when she goes off to college?  Or when her dad’s ready to walk her down the aisle?  I guarantee this, her parents will react the same!  Tears welling, words of encouragement offered, and silent prayers that it’ll really be okay! Trusting our daughter to God!

Later that day, my nap was over, and I’d estimated where the kids would be by now on their way to the border. The phone rings – it’s our pastor, just checking to see if I’d been crying! He knows me too well!

My first tears had come when we headed home, just knowing she was heading the opposite direction, with kids she didn’t know, and even leaders she didn’t know very well.  And, hoping she wasn’t crying, too.  But, as I plotted their course, I was reminded that wherever they were, God was with them and was protecting them.

Then, after talking with our pastor, our ‘special needs’ cat came up to me.  Seriously,  she IS a special needs kitty — born with crippled legs, blinded eyes, and many other infirmities.  She rubbed against my leg, and looked up at me with her watery eyes, and let out her pathetic meow as if to say “I miss her, too!”

Please Lord, stay close to our daughter.  Refresh her and let her really grow close to you and strong in her faith.  Protect her and give her a wonderful week of memories. And, bring her back safely! Amen.

Prologue:  He did!