The second day out on the backpacking trip we stayed by a river. We were drying things out from getting dumped on the night before. The kids want to go play in the river. I suggested to my daughter that she put her suit on. She declined the idea and headed off with her brother and her cousin to explore. She came back pretty soon after leaving to put on her suit so “I don’t get my clothes wet.” I told her that she needed to be careful in the river. Her response was “I’m with Bill (her 20 year old brother). I’ll be okay; he’s a lifeguard. She then ran off to join the guys.
A short time later I went to see where they were. They were nowhere to be seen. Their clothes and shoes were on the rocks, but I couldn’t see them at all. I turned back to the campsite, believing that they were okay. And they were. They could see me, even though I couldn’t see them.
I was struck by the powerful and simple faith of a preteen. To her, the world is safe, and those around her, who care about her, protect her. What a potent belief!
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