As me and my travelling companions from the church got ready to leave and get on the road, I made a last minute run to the restroom. Thinking there was no one else left but me, I was surprised when the bathroom door was locked. I tried to open it, but it was shut tight. I thought, “Oh, no! Someone’s locked the door and I don’t have a key for it.” So, I turned to walk away but I could hear a slight sound coming from behind the door. Perhaps someone WAS in the restroom. I then got close to the door and asked if anyone was in there, and I heard the soft, gentle voice of a young child saying, “I’m in here.” I said, “Oh, okay”, thinking I’d just wait my turn. But then she added, with her voice almost trembling, “I can’t get out.” Oh my heart! So, I tried to talk her through how to unlock the door (it was quite tricky and hard to turn). I could see the doorknob trying to move, but she just couldn’t get it. In that quiet voice again, she said, “I can’t get it open.” She was being so brave! So, I told her not to worry, I was there with her, and I would try to maneuver a similar key in the knob and see if it would open. With one try, sure enough, it worked and the door came wide open! I don’t know how long she was in there, probably only a few minutes, but I’m sure it seemed like an eternity to her.
So as the door opened, that little girl who thought everyone had forgotten her, who thought no one would find her and everyone would leave her; who had no idea how to get herself out of the situation; who felt so alone and so scared, but tried to be so brave; that same beautiful little girl literally just fell into my arms, and the tears began to flow down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably. She said no words; there were only tears. And that was okay, I understood. And I just stood there, holding her tightly in my arms and stroking her hair, reassuring her that she was okay now. Everything was alright and she was safe.
And in that same moment, I thought, “This is exactly what Jesus does.” And I began to sob, too! Oh, how many times have we gotten ourselves into situations that we had no idea how to get out of, but we tried to put on a brave face, and figure things out? Or how many times have we felt alone, scared, or unsure of what to do? How many times have we felt completely forgotten by others? Or maybe felt that it’s been so long and we’re still waiting for help to arrive or for an answer to come? Oh, yes, we are all like that little girl! But you know what!? The truth is, Jesus is always there. He is the key that opens the door, and He saves us from ourselves, from our helplessness. He hears our cry, our clamor, and when He swings that door wide open, we can fall into His loving arms, and He embraces us, calming all our fears and relieving our weariness. And while we weep in deepest gratitude for what He has done, He understands our tears and just holds us; consoling us, loving us and letting us know that everything is okay now. We are safe in His arms.Oh my! I realize how very much I need Him and today, He reminded me of it again.
What seemed like one little girl’s scary bathroom incident actually turned into another beautiful lesson of God’s immense love for us!
