We visited the in-laws today. They have just moved into a new house. My 4 year old daughter went into the bathroom to find a facecloth. I was in the hallway at the time when there was an almighty BANG, followed by extremely loud WAILING coming from the bathroom.

I dropped my icecream (as you do) and ran to the room only to find a heavy wall unit had fallen and my daughter was wedged underneath it. My first thought… broken limbs. I felt sick. But by the grace of God, my daughter was unhurt as the facing wall had stopped the cabinet’s full weight from seriously injuring my little princess. I was amazed as the space where she was (under the cabinet), was tiny to say the least. All she could do was cry, “Sorry… sorry…”. Apparently she had opened a high drawer and placed her full weight on it, causing it to fall.

Apart from a now damaged cabinet and wall (house warming present), everything was fine, and once little Miss 4 had settled down and eaten a gingernut, she felt much better.

As a dad, I pray almost daily that God will protect my wife and kids. It’s times like today when I wonder if it wasn’t for prayer, would the outcome have been different?

What would my response be if she had been seriously hurt? I’m not sure. One thing I do know is that God’s goodness is not dependant on if my prayers are answered or not. The Bible says that the heartfelt prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective. God’s Word does not lie. That’s good enough for me.