The Beginnings Of Faith

Levi was laying on the red sectional, beside Den and I, complaining of an earache. He had been plagued with a mild one all day long, but now it was night time, and he was feeling worse as the darkness was settling in.

Den had offered to bless some olive oil, heat it up, and put it in his ear and Levi had accepted. After Den prayed for him you could see the relief come. Soon after Den told the boys, including Levi, to head off to bed and to get some rest. Everyone filed out, but you could see that Levi wasn't really ready to leave us. Den, being unaware, said nothing and Levi quickly headed off to bed.

Not much later we could hear faint crying coming from the living room. Den muted the television so that we could hear it better, and I said that it was Levi. Den said are you going to go him, and of course I said I would. I gathered myself from the red couch and headed through the kitchen into the dimly lit living room. I saw that he was huddled on the recliner with a black and white comforter covering his face. He was still crying softly. I sat on the burgundy couch across from him, and he must have heard me. He tried to persuade me that I didn't need to stay with him, however I told him that when someone cries than they are in need. I asked him if he wanted to come over to the couch and lay his head in my lap. He quickly agreed and dragged himself, and his oversized comforter, to where I was. When he laid his head on my lap I began to run my fingers through his hair, and to tried to comfort him. He grew quieter and quieter as I did this.

He began to ask me questions about being sick, and the things that had came my way when I was a little girl. We talked about when I had mono for 9 weeks and was deathly ill, we talked about when my ankle had been ran over by a hayride trailer, how I burnt the iris of my eye with a hot curling iron which left a cataracts for awhile, and how the Lord spared my life in a car accident that should have killed me. How all these things happened to me from age 12-14. He said that this sort of stuff scared him, that he didn't want to endure such things. I explained how that God knows what is best for us. How that it increased my faith. That they were some of the most difficult physical things I have gone through, but that God knew why my faith would have to be tested at a young age. I continued to explain that He knew my future, and he was only laying the foundation of my faith in Him.

He asked me why sickness seemed to get worse at night. I told him that this was an ongoing question for many, but I laid the question to him "What if it was because God is light, at night things are darker, and so we FEEL that God is further from us?" I told him I didn't know the answer, but that I did know that God is very much aware of us at night, just as much as day. I asked him if he had ever heard of seeing through the glass darkly. He said yes, but he didn't know what it meant. I said well the Lord says we only see this world and spiritual things through the glass darkly, meaning we don't see things very clearly. I asked him if he had ever looked through a veil. He said he had. I said well that is how we see the spiritual world around us, like seeing it through a veil. It's easy to not see what is REALLY going on. However, there is a LOT going on, and the more you can be in touch with that the better you are, and the more faith you will have.

I told him how important touch was too. That the Lord touched his people many times. It wasn't that he couldn't have healed them just by saying so, but when he had opportunity he touched them. Touch is good and its healing. I said how are you feeling now that I am touching your head and loving on you? He said much better. I said remember to always touch those you love.

Soon after Den walked in. He was ready to head off to bed too. The house was even darker now, except one light on the stairs. Den knelt down, and he and I prayed for him again. This time we asked him if we was ready to turn in. He said he was, and we followed him as he sauntered up the stairs trying not step on the long trailing comforter that was dragging behind.

I told him to remember that if he woke up in the night to talk to the Lord. That even though he couldn't see him that he was there. So as I am writing this this morning Levi is still sleeping. He didn't get up once to come in to say that he was hurting, and I am so thankful. God is good and He is merciful.