A Modern Day David

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 1 Samuel 17:45-50 (NIV)

This is the story of a modern day David who triumphed over evil meant to destroy her. I came to know my adopted (spiritual, not legal) daughter, C. as a shy and anxious middle schooler. She had lots of fears and questions about God and her purpose in life. Though her dad was loving and tender, her mom had many problems and took them out on C. and her siblings. C. was often afraid to go home and feared retribution for not being able to meet the perfect standards her mother set for her. Through work, I met C. and offered to mentor her and try to help her answer the questions she had about life and a God that she did not believe in. As she grew, C. volunteered at my work. She came to believe as I do that God is a loving and wise God who cared for her and wanted the best for her. We knew that just the fact that we were allowed to be friends was proof of his intervention in her life. C. graduated from High School and community college at almost the same time and was preparing to go away to the university, when her mother in a malicious fit decided to kick her out of the house. By this time, her dad and mom were divorced and her dad was moving to be with his family out of state so C. came to live with us when she was not away at school. Our bond deepened during that time. C. graduated near the top of her college class and joined her dad in order to go to graduate school. She realized that she needed experience in her field. On what some might consider a whim, she went to a job fair and passed out her resume hoping to find an internship. It was no coincidence that there she met a job recruiter who decided to take C. under her wing. She arranged for C. to interview for an internship position at a company that does the kind of work C. hoped to do someday. On the day of the interview, I, along with several friends who have become C.’s spiritual aunts and grandmother were praying. C. said that when she went into the offices, she felt like so confident just like she had an army behind her. Just like the Verizon commercials. C. so impressed her first interviewer that she kept getting sent higher and higher up the chain. Her fourth interview in one afternoon was with the vice president of the company who ended up offering C. not an internship, but employment. She loves her new job and is balancing it with graduate school. C., the once, shy and anxious teenager, blossomed into an outgoing and energetic young woman. Just a few years ago, she was trod upon and abused, but through God’s grace and work, she is letting go of her past experiences and moving into a new life.