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Separation

For those whose grandchildren go to live at a distance, even another country.
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“Bye-bye Nanna, bye-bye Nanna, bye-bye Nanna....”

The clear, childish voice faded as the beloved small figure of my three-year old granddaughter climbed the ship’s gangway and disappeared behind the canvas- filled rails of the large white ferry that would carry her away to another country.

It was a great adventure for the little one: the long car journey right across England, her first stay at a hotel, the bustling dock, the huge white ship. Holding tightly to her mother’s hand, she was off to see daddy who now lived and worked in a strange country where people talked another language. Her new world stretched out before her.

Committing Her to the Lord
But mine contracted to a dreary ride home where an empty bedroom was strewn with left behind toys and clothes.  In another bedroom in a small hotel the previous night I had lain sleepless, holding on to the Lord in an anguish of uncertainty about my family’s future. As the moon poured its light through the window on to the little face and spread hair of the child I had spent half my time visiting, looking after and talking to in the past few years, I whispered her name and committed her to the One who holds the unknown future in His hand.               

Lack of work in the North West of England had driven my family to Holland, along with many others from our town - an impulsive move and one that would not work out well in terms of comfortable living. Tourist Amsterdam provided little that was secure for struggling unskilled workers. In this historical city its peaceful canals, humpbacked bridges, cobbled streets and art galleries were a far cry from the drug-ridden, “squat-inhabited” hippy Amsterdam of the addicted, poor and homeless.

Trusting the Lord
For the next three years I learnt painfully, to trust the Lord for my unsaved family as they passed through experiences I had only to read about. Unable to visit, myself, because of work commitments, He provided the money for mother and child to come occasionally to see us; another family member was sent to work near them and kept us informed about their welfare; a trusted church member gave a prophetic word that the child would be kept “as a pure white flower on an ash tip.”

My separation from loved ones, who did return to England after three years, was part of the Lord’s plan to show me how He could protect and love in very difficult circumstances. Just as a parent shows a child how to build up blocks so our Father painstakingly builds up our faith and trust, when we see His reassurance and provision through the working out of his purposes in our lives. The result is complete confidence that He will do us good. He loves us to throw ourselves upon Him, in our helplessness, and then shows us exactly what He can do.

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Used with permission from the Grandparents Network