Nine year old Emily sat on the bed next to me, head bowed, tears streaming down her face, pouring out the details of the morning to me. A bad attitude, along with a false accusation had led to a full-blown pity party. What bothered her most was that she felt she had been completely misunderstood by her Daddy. It was obvious that her heart was hurting.

We called her daddy and he patiently listened to her tearful explanation. When another child confirmed Emily’s side of the story, Terry acknowledged that he had been wrong for correcting her in haste and for failing to check out the facts. He humbly asked her forgiveness. The phone conversation ended and I thought the matter would be forgotten as well. I was wrong.

Though Emily had chosen to forgive, she didn’t know what to do with the pain in her heart and considering my own experience in this area, I knew better than to ignore the issue. Just five years old in the Christian faith myself, I sent up a “flare prayer” to the Lord, asking for wisdom in this situation as Emily and I headed to my bedroom. The Lord was faithful, as always.

The verse that came to my mind was Psalm 27:10. I flipped through my Bible and had Emily read the words of David:

“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.”

I pointed out that the verse says “when”, not “if”. I explained to her, “There will be times when Mommy and Daddy won’t understand you. “ I hated to admit this, but I knew in my heart that it was truth. “Don’t be discouraged though, Sweetheart! There’s a promise attached here. What does the verse say the Lord will do when your mommy and daddy ‘forsake’ you?” She dried her eyes and read the verse again. “He will take me up.” She quietly answered, blue eyes looking to me for clarification. “That means He will draw you near to Himself.”

Emily smiled as we prayed together. “Thank You Lord, that even when we feel misunderstood by those closest to us, You always understand what is in our hearts and in Your love and mercy, You draw us to Yourself.“

Though that incident occurred more than ten years ago, Emily can attest to the fact that there have been many more instances in which her mother and father have forsaken her, but she has never forgotten the promise of this verse and wisely learned to turn to Jesus every time she has felt misunderstood.

Have you been misunderstood by those closest to you? Don’t forget to claim the promise of Psalm 27:10.