Frank the fawn was getting bigger and faster, and Haley could no longer keep up with Frank when they went running together, so she asked Joe if she could use the four-wheeler when she took Frank for a run through the forest. Joe hesitated for a minute and then said that she could use the four-wheeler, but she had to be very careful with it. Haley promised that she would be careful, and soon they were ready to go!
Daniel the raccoon rode on the four-wheeler just in front of Haley. Frank started down the main trail through the forest and Haley followed her on the four-wheeler. Frank was so graceful and ran effortlessly down the trail. Haley just loved to watch Frank run, she never got tired of watching her young doe running through the woods.
Frank turned down another trail. Haley had not been on this trail before. The trail was narrow, and the trees and bushes were leaning over the trail. Haley had to dodge branches, and it was hard to pay attention to where she was going. Suddenly it happened…there was a creek right in front of them! The creek was about 7 feet wide, and it looked shallow. Frank did not even slow down, she just jumped over the creek and landed on the other side and kept going! Haley said to herself, “If Frank can cross this creek, I can cross it too!” Haley revved the motor as fast as it would go and went flying off the bank! Unfortunately, the four-wheeler only flew about two feet, and then it hit the water. Then Haley found out was that the water was not shallow! The four-wheeler stopped in the middle of the creek and the water was up to Haley’s chin! The four-wheeler’s motor quit and would not start again. Daniel swam to the bank and got out of the creek. Haley stayed on the four-wheeler and started to cry! What would she tell Joe?
Two hours later Haley got back to the farmhouse. She was still crying out of control, and she was still dripping wet! Haley opened the door and went in. As soon as she was inside, she yelled, “Daddy, I am so sorry!” Joe was alarmed! Haley had not called him Daddy for a long time; something must be very wrong!
Haley ran up to Joe and threw her arms around him and gave him a very wet hug. Haley burst into more tears and could hardly talk! Finally, she calmed down enough to tell Joe that the four-wheeler was completely drowned in a creek, and it was ruined! As soon as she told Joe, Haley ran to her room, shut the door, flung herself on her bed, and cried and cried. She knew that Joe should be very mad at her because she had ruined the four-wheeler and it would cost a lot of money to fix it.
Meanwhile, Joe grabbed his crutches and went to Haley’s room as quickly as he could. When he got there, he knocked on the door, went in, grabbed Haley and gave her a big hug. Again, it was a very wet hug because Haley was still dripping creek water all over the place. Joe said, “Always remember that I love you no matter what happens.” Haley asked why he was not mad because she had ruined the four-wheeler. Joe told her that he was upset, but he wanted Haley to understand that she was more important to him than anything that they owned.
Haley asked if she was going to be punished because she ruined the four-wheeler. Joe told her that she would have to do more jobs on the farm and in the forest because Joe could not do those jobs without the four-wheeler. Also, the camping trip that they had planned would have to be cancelled. Joe could not go on a camping trip without the four-wheeler, and they needed to use the money to go toward fixing the four-wheeler.
Haley was disappointed that they could not go on the camping trip, and she was not looking forward to all the extra work, but she understood that they are consequences when mistakes are made.
Joe told Haley to go take a shower and put on clean, dry clothes then they would talk about what Haley could learn from this situation. While she was doing this, Joe arranged for a friend to go and pull the four-wheeler out of the creek.
After Haley took her shower and changed, she came and sat next to Joe and put her arm around his shoulders. Haley asked Joe to explain what she could possibly learn from losing a four-wheeler in a creek!
Joe told Haley, “When that four-wheeler landed in the creek, you knew that you had messed up big time! You knew that you had made a big mistake, and you knew that you would have to tell me what had happened. When you got to the house, you called ‘Daddy’ and you hugged me. Even though you were sure that I was going to be mad at you, you came to me and told me what had happened. You knew that no matter how upset I was, I would not get rid of you or send you away because you are my girl and I love you. It is the same with our heavenly father. When a person believes in Jesus and asks Him to forgive their sins and come into their life, God becomes their ‘Daddy’.”
In the Bible in Romans 8:15 it says:
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him “Abba, Father.” (Abba means ‘Daddy’ or ‘Papa’)
Joe continued and said, “We can go to God and tell Him anything, just like a child comes to their Daddy and knows that they can tell him anything. We do not have to be shy or wonder if God will listen to us. God is always ready to listen to us, and He understands us better than we understand ourselves.”
In the Bible in Hebrews 4:16 it says:
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Every believer who has accepted Jesus has a heavenly Daddy who listens, understands, and forgives us when we come to Him. We can come to Him without fear! What an incredible God we have!