Once in a while Jack will walk up to me and quietly whine. If he’s been walked and fed, I’m not sure what he wants and wish he could just tell me in words, so I could help him.

Little children have a similar problem. They’re born with needs and opinions but can’t talk for a couple of long years. Parents are left to interpret the different nuances of their cries and behavior, hoping they’ll understand.

Back when we had the first 5 of our 9 grandchildren visiting, all of them were sick at once. When they didn’t feel good, they’d whimper and cry, but 4 of the 5 (ages 1, 10 months, 7 months, and 7 months) didn’t have words to report what they were feeling. Sore throat? Clogged sinuses? Tummy ache? Headache? We could only guess.

During those weeks, there were several other reasons we wished our little ones had words: important items began disappearing. One day a baby monitor we’d used in the morning was nowhere to be found by afternoon. About the size of a cordless phone but white and with an antenna, it should have been easy to find.

All of us hunted with diligence, becoming increasingly frustrated not to find it. A day of searching went by and then two. We even prayed about it, not so much for the intense need of the monitor as to know where it went. “Lord, you see it right now. Won’t you show us?”

We asked our small fry, too, but of course they couldn’t tell us. After several days, we could only conclude it had gone into a local landfill by way of our trash.

Why didn’t God answer our prayer and show us the monitor? It would have been so easy for him. I find this exasperating yet symbolic of many unanswered prayers. We say, “Just tell me, Lord!” and he refuses.

Why? Maybe he wants us to:

• practice waiting
• increase in patience
• learn to be more careful next time
• learn to handle frustration
• order our priorities
• find humor in the situation

Apparently our family needed to learn those things, because we never found the monitor…

…until 3 months had passed.

While cleaning out the candle cabinet (a child-high, double-door cupboard), there it was. Little hands had hidden it in the back. Maybe we’d finally learned our lessons after all.

And interestingly, God didn’t use any words to answer our prayer.

“ ‘Can anyone [or anything] hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

No chemo tomorrow, Labor Day, but please pray medical personnel will find a good vein on Tuesday for infusion #13.