A daughter’s trust

The little girl ran ahead of her mom in the airport, trying to catch up to her dad. She couldn’t have been older than three or four. When she ran, she kept looking all around her, amazed by the rush of people, the bright sun shining in from the high windows, and the restaurants and shops nearby. 

The dad had stopped at a television screen to check the gate number and departure time for his flight. When he was ready to start walking again, he reached down and grabbed her hand.

Since seeing her a few days ago, I’ve been thinking about the little girl, she had complete and utter trust in her parents. If she fell, she knew they would be there to pick her up. If something exciting happened, they would be there to point it out to her. Do you remember what that was like? Do you remember what it felt like to have that kind of faith and trust?

The little girl has gotten me thinking a lot lately about trust, and how it’s the foundation for all relationships. When you trust another person, you feel safe with them and have confidence that they will protect you. If trust exists, a relationship can handle pretty much anything, without it, the relationship is likely to fall over with a stiff breeze.

I couldn’t help but compare the little girl’s trust to an elderly couple I saw on my way to the airport. The couple was sitting on a park bench and holding each other like their life depended on it. The glimpse was quick, my Uber driver was stopped at a red light, but they were hard to miss. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. They held hands and looked like they had complete trust in each other. 

I see trust in other places too. As school kids start to make their way back to school and parents post first day pictures, I think of the trust that they have in their teachers to lead them. If it exists, the kids will learn and grow. If it doesn’t exist, the kids will act out and misbehave.

Finally, I think of Nittany, our Lhasa Apso – Bichon Frise dog. She can be stubborn as heck, but has absolute trust in us to care and feed her. She hates when we leave and loves to snuggle with us. She trusts us implicitly.

Trust is a miraculous thing. Oh, to earn it and keep it each day.