Bible Reading: Psalm 34:1-15; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Thea inhaled the mist from her nebulizer. She felt her chest muscles relax as air rushed in. Just a few minutes before, an asthma attack had robbed her of her breath. "How do you feel now?" Mom asked as Thea let out a breath.

"Better," Thea said. "I wish I didn't have asthma."

"I know," Mom said. "But thank God we have this medicine when you do have an attack."

"Mom, why doesn't God just heal my asthma like I've asked Him to?" asked Thea. "Doesn't He like me?"

"I don't know why God heals some people and not others. Even when Jesus lived on earth, some sick people weren't healed. But we know that Jesus loved them and that He loves you because He died so we could have our sins forgiven."

"Then why pray about it if God isn't going to heal me?" Thea asked. "I still have the medicine to make me feel better when I need it."

"Remember when we took you to the emergency room during your first asthma attack?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, that was scary," Thea said. "I could hardly breathe at all! Then Dr. Singh came. He knew what medicines I needed."

"Maybe since you have your medicine, we don't need Dr. Singh anymore," Mom suggested.

"But Mom, he's in charge of my treatment plan!" Thea protested.

"You're right, Thea. We still need Dr. Singh--and we also need God. When we pray, we're asking God to take charge of our lives. God loves you and is working for your good. In fact, God gave the knowledge to treat asthma to doctors like Dr. Singh. Your medicines came from the earth He created. Your doctor isn't here for every attack, but we trust and follow his treatment plan. We don't know all the ways God is working in our lives, but we know He loves us and is always with us, even when doctors can't be. We can trust that God knows just what we need and is bringing about good, even when He doesn't answer our prayers the way we ask."

Thea sighed. "Then I guess the best treatment plan for my asthma is to keep praying and let God be in charge."

– Heidi Schmidt

Bible Reading: Philippians 2:1-4

"Oh man! Julie's here again?" whined Luke.

"I told Aunt Megan I would watch her for a few hours," said Mom. "What's wrong? I thought you loved your baby cousin."

"She's fine, I guess. It's just that whenever she's here, Kevin totally ignores me. He doesn't want to play or go outside. He just wants to hold Julie. What's so great about her, anyway?" muttered Luke. "She can't even do anything,"

"Let me show you something we liked to do with you when you were a baby," said Mom as she led him to Julie and his older brother, Kevin. "It takes a while for a baby's sight to develop. Julie can only see things that are eight inches away from her face."

"Really? How far is that?" asked Luke.

"That's just the right distance to see whoever's holding her," Mom replied. "Watch this." She slowly stuck her tongue in and out of her mouth at Julie.

Julie started doing it back!

"The only time it's not rude to stick out your tongue is if you're playing with a baby," Luke said with a laugh. "Let me try!" Much to Luke's delight, Julie mimicked him too.

"Let's try peekaboo," suggested Kevin.

Luke covered his face with his hands and then suddenly pulled them away and said, "Peekaboo!" Julie started kicking excitedly and huffed with joy. Then Kevin and Luke both tried the tongue trick again.

When Aunt Megan arrived, Luke asked if Julie could stay longer.

"I guess Julie grew on you, Luke," said Mom.

"Once I realized she could see me, it was fun to connect with her," said Luke.

"And that connection is important," said Mom. "Julie was looking up at you today, and she'll continue to look up to you as she grows. Just like you enjoy having your brother's attention, younger kids will thrive when you give them your attention, and you'll be showing them God's love too. He wants us to help younger children grow by loving and caring for them the way He loves and cares for us as His children."

"I guess that means I'll have to stop sticking my tongue out at Julie," said Luke with a smile.

– Kelly Bakshi

Bible Reading: Psalms 27:5-10, 14; 91:14-16

Because there was so much arguing going on inside the house, no one heard Jude slip out the back door. He ran across the yard and shimmied up his favorite tree. Somehow, sitting in the big old tree made Jude feel better--safe from things like noise and heartache. The tree was his hiding place and escape.

Jude stayed in the tree for a long time. He listened to birds chirp and sing. He watched small, quick squirrels run around the yard. The day looked better from high up in his favorite hiding place. There were no problems here. Still, his heart was very heavy.

"Jude!" called Mom from the back door. "Where are you?" Jude saw that his grandma was there too, so he climbed down and walked slowly toward the house. "Grandma wants to know if you'd like to go home with her for a while," said Mom. "Do you want to?" Eagerly, Jude nodded.

"That tree you were in must be very special to you," Grandma said as they got into the car. "Your mom says you spend a lot of time there."

"I like it up there," said Jude. "It's away from everything." He sighed. "But it's almost winter. Then I won't be able to hide in my tree anymore."

"Sounds like you'll need a new hiding place," said Grandma. "And you know what? There's an even better place where you can take shelter from the things that trouble you."

Jude was surprised. "There is? Where?"

"Any place you want it to be," Grandma replied. "It's the Lord's presence. Because you trust in Jesus, His Spirit lives in you, and He's always with you. He wants to help you and remind you how much He loves you. You can talk to Him anywhere, anytime."

Jude kicked his feet together, looking down at the mat in the car rather than his Grandma's gentle gaze. "What if I don't want to talk about it, even with God?

Grandma was silent for a moment. "Then remember that Jesus knows exactly what you're going through and promises to give you strength," she finally said. "If you don't want to talk, remember that He loves you so much He died for you, and know that you're safe in His care. He will listen whenever you're ready and will carry you through."

– Nance E. Keyes