Last Sunday a group of young parents with their toddler kids gathered at my son’s house to watch football.  David said the kids were going wild, running everywhere. And I’m sure the adults were going wild in the living room too, as they cheered the Forty Niners to what they hoped would be victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

But the day brought a heartbreaking finish. And that night, as Amanda was getting our three year old grandson ready for bed, she realized just how heartbreaking the day had been.

Beyond the fact that San Francisco had lost…Beebee was lost!

We all know that Beebee is Nathan’s constant bedtime companion.  The beaver sleeps with him and wakes up with him. They have their morning milk together and he falls asleep flicking Beebee’s tooth over and over again.

This was a real crisis!

David told us the story the next day.

While Amanda was trying to calm down her overtired, frantic little boy, David combed the back yard with a flashlight. The kids had brought lots of toys out into the yard, but no stuffed beaver.  He climbed up on the fence, and flashed his light into neighbors’ back yards.  Yep – they had thrown some toys over the fence, but no Beebee. He even went and knocked on the door of a new neighbor and asked if he could take a closer look in their back yard.

(Most parents have had the experience. I remember retracing my steps through about 7 stores when Monica lost her doll, Ellie on a long grocery shopping trip.)

Last Sunday night Beebee was nowhere to be found.  David said he stood there overwhelmed and thoroughly tired. He couldn’t think of anywhere else to look. Then it occurred to him that they had not prayed. He’s a strong Christian daddy, and usually remembers to direct his children’s attention first to Jesus, but on this crazy, tiring day it had slipped his mind.

He went into Nathan’s room, where the little guy stood sobbing. David squatted down and put his arms around his son, “Nathan, we are going to pray and ask Jesus to take care of Beebee and bring him back, okay?”

Nathan gave a shuddering little sob and nodded, as David hugged him close. “Dear Jesus…”

As David began to pray, his eyes were at the level of the low shoe shelf in Nathan’s closet, and there, on top of some shoes, was Beebee!

His heart was soaring as he finished the prayer. “Amen! …You doin’ okay, Buddy?”

Nathan nodded.

David said, “Okay, we’re going to trust Jesus to help us find Beebee. But now it’s really late so why don’t you pick up your shoes and go put them on the shelf and we’ll finish getting ready for bed.”

“Okay.”  Nathan picked up his shoes and headed over to his shoe shelf where he got the answer to his prayer.