Almost jokingly, I suggested to Peter that he could go to the nearby grocery store and pick up the Redbox movie we just reserved. And much to my surprise, he agreed. So my young child hopped on his bike with my credit card and a walkie-talkie in his pocket and off he went. He had a bit of a hiccup entering the zip code on the machine, but a random stranger helped him out and he returned home in less than ten minutes with a movie in his pocket.

I want to encourage my children to do hard things, things that are new and a little scary. And I am glad for the people around them that help them out, even if they are strangers. I could worry about everything that could go wrong with a scenario like that, but in reality, the risks are low and it will help my child grow.

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We hiked to the top of a giant rock, and my niece’s hat flew off her head in the violent winds and disappeared over the side of the cliff. She was heartbroken. We couldn’t see it, and there wasn’t a great way to get it. It was seemingly gone forever. More to offer her some hope and comfort than any real faith that she would find her hat, I suggested that she could pray.

We hiked back down. My niece, Peter, and Joe went a different way down, close to the rock where the hat had fallen. Later on, I saw Peter and my niece running down the trail, and she had her hat on.

They had found it wedged in a hole in the face of the rock, and Joe climbed up and grabbed it. Peter and my niece both said they prayed about it. And God heard their prayers, the hat was quickly found and everyone went home happy.