Waiting for Dad

WAITING FOR DAD

            “Mama, when will Papa come,” was my constant question from the time I woke up till I went to bed.  I was thoroughly bored, and my 3-year-old self did not have much to do.  I would run to have a peek at my new baby brother, but there would be an aunt or a cousin looking over me to make sure that I did not do anything wrong, because I tried to stuff a cracker into his mouth the second day after he was born!  I was not allowed to go and play with the little girls in the village because I did not know the language and my ‘doctor uncle’ was afraid that I would catch some infection from the ‘not-so-clean children’!  How I wish Dad was here because we could do so many fun things.  I loved to take a walk with Dad to the big blue lake surrounded with huge trees and watch the little brown and white spotted ducks swimming and ducking into the water to catch fish.  I would then walk slowly to the edge of the lake holding Dad’s hands, and wriggle my toes in the small waves that came again and again to the edge of the lake.  After playing for some time in the water I would choose a rock that was not covered with moss and sit there and watch as Dad waded into the water with his pants rolled up and picked the beautiful white and pink water lilies, and then take them home.  Now I was not allowed to go there with anyone else.  Mom was busy taking care of the new baby, and talking to the constant stream of relatives who came to visit us.



            My Dad had brought my mother and me from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and left us in my Uncle’s house so that my mother could have all the help she needed when the new baby was born.  My baby brother was three months old and I was longing to see my Dad and get back to our own house in Kottawa.



            One hot afternoon I went to my favorite place – a neem tree with a stone platform built around it, right next to my uncle’s house.  I thought this was a great place and I could see the whole world when I stood on this platform. I thought of my Dad and then remembered what my mother told me several times, “If you really want something, ask Jesus.” I stood under that tree and prayed my first sincere request, all by myself.



            “Jesus, I want Papa to come when I’ll be standing under this neem tree, Amen.” I quickly opened my eyes with excitement and looked down the road to see if my Dad was coming.  There was no sign of him and I was very disappointed.  I ran to my mother in tears, and told her that I had asked Jesus to send my Dad as, I stood under the neem tree but Jesus did not do that.  She told me that sometimes Jesus answers right away and sometimes He makes us wait, but we have to keep on praying.  I agreed and not only did I ask Jesus several times, but started telling everyone, “I’ll be standing under the neem tree and my Papa will come soon because I told Jesus.”  I continued the same thing for some time, and one-day I saw a horse drawn cart come down the road, and I thought that would be a wonderful idea for my Dad to come in a horse cart! So, I added that to my request to Jesus and started telling people.  “I’ll be standing under the neem tree and my Papa will come in a horse cart, because I told Jesus.”  .



            People started laughing at me and my mother thought that I would get disappointed and told me that my Dad was not very fond of riding a horse cart and as usual he would come in a taxicab.  But I insisted that this is what I had told Jesus and added one more request, which is after getting down from the horse cart he would take me for a ride in it!  I do not know what my poor mother thought about all this, but she insisted that the horse-cart ride might not take place.  My Dad had to travel six miles from the town to the village and she thought that he would not like to ride on a horse cart.  Seeing my insistence to ride on the horse cart she tried to dissuade me by saying and that it was quite dangerous for me as the horses sometimes acted funny and tossed people out of the carts and I should not expect that to happen.  But I kept on telling Jesus, “I will be standing under the neem tree and my Papa will come in a horse cart and take me for a ride in it.”



          The only thing I cannot remember here is the exact number of days that I went on with this.  I then turned my prayer into a song and kept singing the same thing, which was a joke among my relatives and the neighbors.  But my mother said that this went on for about 10-12 days, and I never gave up.  Then one morning, my mother bathed me and dressed me in my favorite dress, a blue flowered dress.  As I looked at the dress I decided that was the best one for me to receive my Dad.  I then changed my song to, “I’ll be wearing this blue dress and standing under the neem tree and my Papa would come in a horse cart and take me for a ride in it.”  My cousins and aunts burst out laughing when they heard this new addition to my chorus.



            I ran to the neem tree as soon as I was dressed and climbed on to the stone platform and looked down the street and saw a horse cart coming towards my uncle’s house.  I couldn’t see the person sitting inside the cart but I just shouted, “Papa, Papa,” and my mother and the others came running out of the house to see what was going on.  To the surprise of every one, there was my Dad getting down from the horse cart, lifting me up to him and asking me if I would like to take a ride on it too!  Sure enough I had my dream ride! Yes, Jesus had answered the wishes of a little 3-year-old!