“Grandpa, will you please pass the potatoes?”
Silence.
“GRANDPA!”
“HUH?”
“Will you please pass the potatoes?”
“HUH?!”
“PASS THE POTATOES!”
Talking to my grandpa was difficult. A lifelong farmer, years of working around loud machinery had damaged his hearing, and his hearing aids didn’t help much. It was hard to have a conversation when I wasn’t even sure if he could hear me. “HUH?!” seemed to be his favorite word. Plus, he was usually covered in dirt and smelled like cows—not exactly someone you’d want to cuddle up with for a story. As a result, I didn’t spend much quality time with him.
One day during a visit, my mom told me that Grandpa wanted to take me on a 3-wheeler ride around the farm. I climbed up to sit behind him and held onto his overalls.
“Where are we going, Grandpa?”
“HUH?”
“Never mind…”
Off we went, bumping across the pasture as Grandpa pointed out grazing cows and fields of golden wheat in the distance. As we looped back along the gravel road, a neighbor drove by and stopped to chat. I was shocked when Grandpa said, “And this is my granddaughter Kelli, visiting from Minnesota.” He then went on to share what grade I was in, that I was taking piano lessons, and even details about my school projects.
I sat there, dumbfounded. I had assumed he didn’t care because it was so hard to talk to him, but all along, he had been paying attention. He knew all these things about me!
Sometimes, talking to Jesus feels a lot like talking to my grandpa.
“Dear Jesus, I’m struggling with…”
Silence.
“JESUS, DO YOU HEAR ME? DON’T YOU CARE? TURN UP YOUR HEARING AIDS!”
In the Bible, people asked Jesus the same thing (check out Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 10:38-42). But at least they got to speak to Him face-to-face and hear His response. It’s much harder when we send our prayers into the air and have to trust that He hears us, cares about us, and is responding—even when we don’t see it.
But here’s the truth: Jesus never says, “Huh? What did you say? I wasn’t paying attention.” It is impossible for Him not to hear us!
Next Sabbath, open the hymnal to #181, “Does Jesus Care?” The chorus says:
“Oh yes, He cares; I know He cares!
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.”
I can picture Jesus turning to an angel in heaven and proudly saying, “That’s my beloved child! Let me tell you how amazing they are!”
So keep talking to Jesus. He knows you. He loves you. And He cares—deeply.
Kelli Wasemiller is a former Adventist educator who now stays home with her twins Thomas and Hazel. She and her husband, Stephen, live in Rapid City, South Dakota.
