Nothing Can Separate

SPLASH! Joelle's brother filled the trench between their two sandcastles with a full bucket of water."No!" Joelle's eyes filled with tears. "Now they can't get to each other!" She jumped to her feet. "Take the water away, Stanley!"Her brother shook his head. "There has to be water in the moat.""No!" Joelle looked between the two castles. "No!""What's going on?" Tessa, their babysitter, walked up to them. "Joelle, calm down.""He put water between the castles!" Joelle pointed at her brother. "Now they can't get to each other!"Tessa smiled. "Oh, and they're in love?""No!" Joelle stomped a foot. "Stanley has the king's house. He built a castle for him. And I built the princess's house. She's his daughter. Her daddy needs to be able to get to her.""Oh." Tessa scratched her head. "Hmm…""There has to be water in the moat," Stanley said quickly."Well…" Tessa crouched down. "If the daddy loves the little girl, he will find a way to get to her." She picked up a shell and set it by Stanley's castle. "This is a boat for him to use to get to his daughter.""What if the boat doesn't work?" Joelle asked, brushing at her eyes.Tessa picked up a piece of driftwood and set it between the two castles. "And this is a bridge."Joelle swallowed. Maybe that would work."If the daddy loves his princess, he'll find a way to get to her," Tessa said. "Just like God will always find a way to be with us. Nothing can ever separate us from Him. Jesus became human and died to save us, and He will always be with us.""What about when we do bad things?" Stanley asked, looking up from his castle.Tessa shook her head. "When we trust in Jesus, our sins are forgiven.""What about when it's storming?" Joelle asked.Tessa smiled and shook her head. "Are you asking about God or the people living in your castles?" she asked. "God won't let anything separate you and Him. That king in Stanley's castle is going to find a way to the princess, even if it starts to storm."Joelle stared at her babysitter for a long minute before she smiled too. She liked the thought of that. -Emily Acker