As we drove down the dark highway last night on our way to a beach getaway I noticed my husband reach his hand into the backseat from his driver’s seat perch. He patted the small leg of our four-year-old daughter, a reassuring, love-filled pat. Then he looked over at me in the passenger seat and commented on something I hadn’t even noticed.
“She’s scared,” he said.
“Surely not,” I answered, but then directed my attention to her. “Are you okay, sweetie?” I asked.
“Daddy, are we lost?” She asked, with a quiver to her voice.
It turns out she was very frightened. She didn’t recognize our surroundings, it was dark outside, and she couldn’t see what lay ahead. And the crazy part is that even as we explained the facts she still remained hesitant. I told her we knew where we were going, and then I went a step further showing her the GPS directions displayed on my phone. She understood what I was saying, and she knew we had never gotten lost before, yet as she settled back against her seat I could still see she was on edge. She trusted her daddy more than anything, yet she was still afraid. She couldn’t see the beach up ahead; all she saw was darkness pressing in.