More from Lillian Saldaña

Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it. — Proverbs 22:6 (CEB)

God bless you in wondrous ways!  Once again, I am writing to you from Cuba.  Today I want to tell you about my child, although she is not a child anymore.  Evelyn is fifteen years old.  When she was ten years old, she was super active.  She would not stand still even for a moment.  At times it felt like I must have done something wrong in the way I was rearing my child.  As a child, she was not obedient.  When we went to church, she was constantly moving about and then when the musicians started to sing, she would be very happy and even more energetic.

Churches in Cuba are always lively and charismatic.  People worship God with a freedom of expression, and Evelyn embraced that spirit and expressed that exuberance in her dancing and rejoicing.  I felt slightly embarrassed because she could not contain her enthusiasm.  But the words of our Lord resonated with me:  “Allow the children to come to me,” Jesus said.  “Don’t forbid them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children” (Matt. 19:14).

The first time I saw that Evelyn was interested in my books was an evening when the electricity went out and I had to use a lantern.  We were alone in the dark, and I was seated at the table.  She came and stood calmly by my side, observing me as I began to write meditations for El Aposento Alto by the faint light of the lantern.  I noticed her keen interest in what I was writing, and she asked about the kind of people who read the meditations.  The next day she sat down at my small table, asked for a blank sheet of paper, and started writing on the theme of “The Best Gift for Mother.”  To my surprise, she then asked, “Could you send my meditations to El Aposento Alto too?

I immediately remembered the text from Proverbs 22:6.  I had always wanted to teach my daughter the ways of God, but found it easier to say this verse than to put it into practice.  Inspired by the great Teacher through Evelyn’s action, I learned a valuable lesson.  Evelyn does what she sees me do.  She writes, studies and reviews scripture and biblical texts, and follows along when I edit meditations.  This experience led me to write a meditation for El Aposento Alto that was published on October 15, 2024.

Evelyn is now fifteen years old.  She loves the Lord and continues to write and read the Bible.  You can see her holding her favorite book, the Bible, in the photo I have sent.  Though at first I worried about teaching her, it was God who was always guiding me to teach her about God and God’s ways.  When my daughter began to realize my focus on doing God’s work, she began to do the same.  I am blessed by all that I have learned, knowing that all things come from the Lord.  My daughter is perceptive and eager to learn, so I will continue to be guided by God’s word and teach her accordingly.