Before They Call

We rented a house for five months in 2017 while we waited for construction to be completed on our new house. Our girls, Alyssa and Natalia, enjoyed playing outside on the trampoline and deck during those summer days.

 I bought two pinwheels one Friday afternoon, and the girls were very excited about playing with them outside. That Sabbath, we went to a church close to our house. Alan, my husband, decided that since we were close to home, he and the girls would return home on the walking trails. As I drove home, though, I noticed that dark storm clouds were gathering, and a strong wind began to blow. The perfect time for those pinwheels, I thought.

 Alan and the girls got home soon after I did. I stopped to talk with Alan for a bit. Then I noticed the house was extremely quiet. A thought came to my mind: Where are the girls? I searched the house, then went to the back door and saw their shoes. I heard a voice say, Check on the girls. I opened the back door, and there they were. Both girls were on the deck, spinning and twirling with their pinwheels in hand, having a wonderful time. Alyssa was nearest to me by the door while her sister, Natalia, was at the farthest right side of the deck. Suddenly I noticed a black cloud of something rising from the far side of the deck. A whole swarm of something!

“Come inside right now! Natalia!” I shouted. “Run! Quickly!” Both girls raced toward me as Natalia started screaming. The seconds it took for them to get to me felt like an eternity. Alyssa got to me first. As soon as Natalia got inside, I slammed the door with all my might. The girls had just made it to safety. The swarm of wasps that had come up from under the deck were very angry, having been stirred up by the vibrations of two little girls spinning around. Sadly, Natalia got stung on her foot, but as far as we could tell, she had only one sting. I can only imagine how much worse it could have been if I hadn’t gone looking for the girls when I did. Later, Alan found a huge wasps’ nest under the deck that was about twelve inches long!

We thank the ever-watchful Lord for protecting our girls as only He was able to do.

 Noella (Jumpp) Baird