Within My Reach

“Mommy, can I have this?” the cute little blonde girl asked her mother, who was busy talking to the clerk looking for directions. The little girl had grabbed a a doll off one of the shelves, and was showing it to her mother.

“No sweetheart,” came the reply. “Now come with me.” The mother had gotten the directions and grabbed her little daughter’s hand and walked to the next aisle, and started looking at products on the shelves.

The little girl, still enamored by the doll, looked back to see another little girl, and her mommy. As she watched, the girl started to point at that particular doll. The other girl’s mother, picked it up off the shelf and put it into her shopping cart. The other girl was all smiles, and jumped up and down for joy behind the mother.

The little girl turns back to her mother, “Mom, look.” She pulls on her mom’s hand and points at the other little girl.

“What did I say?” Her mom replied.

“No,” came the pitiful reply. “But–”

“No buts. You cannot have that doll.” The corners of the little girl’s mouth seemed like they would fall off their face and hit the ground. As her bottom lip came out, tears started to come into her eyes. The mother seemed oblivious.

The two continued on through the store, looking at different things, the little girl still wanting the doll, and the mother ignoring it.

They finally made it to the check out counter. There, in front of them a few customers was another little girl with the same doll. This was all that the little girl could take. “Mom–” she whined, pointing at the doll. “Why can all these other little girls have dolls and I can’t?”

The mother pulled the little girl out of line, and brought her over to a corner. “Listen to me. I told you know twice. Now that is enough. I don’t want to hear it come out of you again, you understand me?” The girl broke out into tears.

“Yes mom,” sniffed the girl, through her tears.

“Now, run out to the car, and sit there until I get there.” The little girl, tears trickling down her face, headed toward the door, and started outside. She avoided people, though a few asked what was wrong. She got out to the car, and sat there and cried for a little while.

Time passed, which seemed like forever, before her mom came out. She had finished her crying, though her eyes were still red, and her sleeves a little wet. They silently rode all the way home, and the little girl went to her room. Once she got there, she found a doll sitting on her bed. The silence broke, and her mom was standing in the door way. The girl turned around and looked at her mom, this time with tears of joy in her eyes and a smile on her face.

The Lord promises to provide all our needs, if we will just wait upon Him in His Way, His Will and His Timing. Why do we rush Him? He has the best plan. Why settle for anything less than the best? Why try to guess the future now?