The Duck of Grace

Written by Susan Stedman

Matthew 6:8b, “…for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask.”

I grew up with an earthly father who was neither here nor there. We rarely knew where he was, so he was not a very good example when I started to learn about my Heavenly Father. Donnie didn’t know very much about me either, about the things I liked, the things I didn’t like, who my friends were, or how I did in school. You get the picture. The one thing he always knew was what scared me. That was pretty much the extent of our relationship. He got a kick out of scaring me, my sister, my cousins, and any friend that might have been around at the time.

About six years ago, I reconnected with an old friend on Facebook who had known me in elementary school. We were tickled to find each other and catch up, but the very first thing she said was, “I remember that slumber party where your dad told us scary stories all night! I didn’t sleep for a week!” 

So, yeah, fear was his game. I guess it gave him a feeling of power somehow. Then we have my heavenly Father, whom I call “Daddy” sometimes. This is why…

Several years ago, my family and my sister’s family helped my grandmother move into a new house. We worked all day packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking and left for the hour-and-a-half drive home well after dark. We were all exhausted and stopped at a little restaurant for dinner. On the way out, the kids noticed a gumball machine that was filled with tiny rubber ducks and duck tattoos. We obviously weren’t thinking straight by that time because my husband started pumping quarters in trying to win all four of the over-eighteen “kids” a rubber duck. However, after nearly $10 in quarters, they all had handfuls of tattoos and no rubber ducks.

I was the last one out and I had fifty cents left, so I just felt like trying my luck. I even said a prayer for some reason. “God, I really want a duck.” I put the money in, turned the handle, and a tiny, yellow-spotted duck fell into my hand. I was elated and ran outside showing off my duck.

It didn’t occur to me till the next morning that I had probably been silly and irresponsible to pray to God for a rubber duck. I apologized to Him and told Him that I didn’t mean it in any bad way. I don’t know why I even did it. I was so used to praying constantly that I guess I just did it out of habit.

While I was praying that morning, I understood that God was not upset with me. He asked me if I knew why He did that. I had no guess.

“Because I want you to know that I am not like your earthly father. When you ask something of me, I will not let you down. I want you to know that you can trust me to give you good things.” I started to cry because I could feel those words even more than I could hear them. The situation taught me to make sure what I prayed for was worthwhile and not frivolous. I still have my “Duck of Grace”. It sits in my basket beside my bed. He will be seven years old this year. 
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And that brings me back around to my favorite verse in the Bible. “He knows what I need before I ask Him.” He knew I needed to have a better example than Donnie because it would cement my trust like nothing else. He has not failed me yet. It did take me some time to trust His judgment over my wants, but with age comes wisdom, supposedly. I have gotten much better at saying, “I trust you to know what is best for me.” With that comes the peace that passes all understanding.