Plant a Tiny Mustard Seed

“I tell you this: if you had even a faint spark of faith,
even faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and because of your faith,
the mountain would move. If you had just a sliver of faith,
you would find nothing impossible.”
Matthew 17:20 (The Voice)

            When my girls were young, we had a neighbor named Andrea. While she had brothers and sisters of her own, they were considerably older, and since Andrea fell in age between my third and fourth daughters, she fit right in with my crew. She loved coming over to our house and hanging out. We often included her in meals and sleepovers, and when her parents went on vacation, Andrea stayed with us for five nights in a row.

            The first night after everybody had their baths and were in their pajamas, I started the routine that I did with my own children every night, saying prayers and singing lullabies.

            When we all began to pray The Lord’s Prayer, Andrea didn’t join in.

            “I don’t know the Lord’s Prayer,” she said. I was surprised because she was probably seven or eight years old at the time.

            “Well, you can have your choice of bowing your head with your hands together and listening or we can teach it to you and then you can say it with us,” I told her.

            “I’d like to learn it,” she said. So that’s what we did. Andrea was smart. Within two days, she knew the entire prayer by heart. After that, every time she slept over, we went through the same routine. She always joined right in. It was evident even then that The Lord’s Prayer was important to her. “I say it when I’m by myself, too” she told us.

            After Andrea and her family had been our neighbors for ten years, they moved away, and we lost touch. Twenty-five years later, I received a letter in the mail from someone I didn’t recognize. I opened it and read:

            “This is Andrea. I’m not sure you remember me, but I was a friend of your children for many years. I’m married now and live in North Carolina. When I woke up this morning, I knew I had to write and tell you that I am born-again Christian. I am grateful to you for making my life so good because of my belief in God that began when you taught me The Lord’s Prayer. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

            Since then, when I say The Lord’s Prayer, I can’t help but think of Andrea and thank our God who takes a tiny mustard seed and makes a mighty tree. It only has to be planted.  Carol Schaller