Vera’s Missing Answers

Name withheld

Would Vera’s parents get divorced? Would her family ever be happy again?

A true story from the USA.

Vera tried to sing the sacrament hymn, but none of the words came out. She was too sad to sing. Yesterday, her dad had moved out.

Vera kept thinking about watching her dad pack boxes into his car and drive away to live in an apartment on the other side of the city.

It was hard to concentrate on the sacrament prayers or speakers. Instead, Vera repeated the same silent prayer over and over in her head:

Dear Heavenly Father, will my dad live with us again? Will my parents get divorced? Will my family ever be happy again?

After sacrament meeting, Vera barely noticed her Aunt Julie, who was also her Primary teacher, walking next to her in the hall.

“Your mom told me about your dad moving out,” Aunt Julie said. She put her arm around Vera. “I’m so sorry.”

Vera didn’t know what to say.

In the Primary room, Aunt Julie sat next to her. Vera stared down at her shoes until the pianist started playing “My Heavenly Father Loves Me.” Vera lifted her head. It was her favorite song.

But when she opened her mouth to sing, no sound came out. So she repeated her silent prayer, asking the same three questions. Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Aunt Julie leaned toward her and whispered, “Would you like to go for a walk?”

Vera nodded.

Illustration of a woman holding a girl’s hand as they go for a walk outside

Quietly, Aunt Julie and Vera left the Primary room and went outside. Vera held Aunt Julie’s hand as they walked on the grass together.

“Look,” Aunt Julie said. “A robin.”

Vera spotted a red-chested robin singing in a tree.

“It’s like your favorite song. Whenever I hear the song of a bird …” Aunt Julie pointed up. “Or look at the blue, blue sky.”

Vera looked up to see that the sky was a beautiful blue. Just like in the song.

“I can’t sing today,” she said in a hoarse voice.

“That’s OK,” Aunt Julie said. “Do you want to talk about how you’re feeling?”

Vera told her about the three questions that were swirling around in her head.

Aunt Julie squeezed Vera’s hand. “I wish I knew the answers to those questions. I know your family will be able to find happiness. But I don’t know exactly what will happen. So let’s think of some questions we can answer.”

“Like what?”

Aunt Julie stopped walking and looked at Vera. “Do you know that your mom and dad love you?”

Vera blinked. “Yes.”

“Do you know that I love you?” Aunt Julie asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you know that Heavenly Father loves you?”

Vera started to cry again. But this time, it was a good kind of crying. “Yes.”

Aunt Julie gave Vera a big hug. “Things will be hard for a while. But I hope you always remember that you are loved.”

Illustration of a smiling girl looking at a robin in a tree

Vera wiped her eyes and listened to the robin sing. She thought of the last line of her song. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

She still felt sad. But she could also feel something peaceful in her heart.

When Vera went back to Primary with Aunt Julie, she didn’t sing. But she tried to listen to the words of the songs.

During the next few weeks, Vera still wanted answers to her questions about her family. But whenever she felt overwhelmed by the things she didn’t know, Vera sang a Primary song in her head. She also tried to focus on the things she did know.

She knew her mom and dad loved her. She knew Aunt Julie loved her. She knew she was a child of God. And most importantly, she knew that no matter what happened with her family, Heavenly Father loved her very much.