Hey everyone,

This is Molly Mayo, coming in with a new episode on Character in Crisis! Today I’m excited to share a book that is near and dear to my heart, The Runaway Darling.

“There was no doubt about it. She was a very naughty little girl, and no one was able to make her good. Her grandfather was the only one whom she seemed to fear at all, but he would not trouble himself about her…”

Thus starts the opening pages of The Runaway Darling. All at once intriguing and endearing, Amy LeFeuvre pierces straight to the hearts and minds of her readers in a few simple, swift sentences. I was instantly drawn in by those lines and found myself whisked away to the world of this naughty, lonely little girl.

Fatherless, motherless, and unloved by her grandfather, little Judy is left to her own devices on a large estate. Her bright, curious mind invents lots of adventures—most of which get her in deep trouble! Our story opens with little Judy in quite a pickle.

Snow had fallen thickly outside the mansion, and Judy had “danced out in it and brought armfuls of wet snowballs in with her, which she put into a cupboard under the stairs, ready for every emergency. But the stove was lighted in the hall, and alas for the snowballs!” They trickled their way over the thick ornamental rugs, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Mittens, was quite furious. Giving Judy a piece of her mind, Mrs. Mittens then punishes the child by “forbidding her to stir out of the house again that day.”

“‘Then I shall be just as wicked as I can be!’” Judy resolves. First, she steals the house keys from the housekeeper, then she unlocks the door to the store-room and fills both mouth and pockets with raisins, figs, and candied fruit! Next, she determines to unlock the door to a forbidden room. However, within this hidden chamber lies a book that is about to change her life forever.

Possessing a deep love of stories, Judy eagerly picks up the book. Upon opening, she discovers an inscription that causes her heart, so starved for love, to leap within her.

“To My Darling, Judy”

Hugging the book to her chest, Judy promptly, “sat down on the floor and tucked her legs under her, and there, oblivious of the cold, she pored over the wonderful story of ‘Christian’ in The Pilgrim’s Progress.” Later, Mrs. Mittens, informs her that the book belonged to Judy’s deceased mother. Delighted in this little piece of her mother’s past, Judy makes up her mind to be, “little Miss Christian,” although she can’t help but wonder if anyone will ever call her their little darling.

A few chapters later, she meets a man who is noble, kind, and generous. The two become fast friends and little Judy promptly dubs the man “Mr. Greatheart.” She learns much from this man who tells her splendid stories about his great God and a beautiful kingdom that is to come for God’s children. As time passes, Judy wishes more than anything in the whole wide world that this man was her own dear father. Yet he gently redirects her. The conversation went something like this, “There is another Mr. Greatheart, dear child—the true one. He calls you His own, dear darling. He loves you more than you can possibly imagine, and you must learn to love Him more than any man upon this earth.”

Judy listens in awe, her child-heart softening and warming at the man’s words. With tears I continued reading, only to discover the unexpected conclusion to The Runaway Darling. I closed the book deeply convicted as I experienced the powerful, heart-stirring truth contained within. Although I wish I could spill the full story out upon these pages, I must allow the story to tell itself.

I can, however, tell a portion of mine. My father left when I was around little Judy’s age. God knows how I’ve yearned in my heart to know his love—to hear my earthly father call me his darling, feel his embrace, learn from him, and tell him all about who I am and who I want to be. Some of those things I may never experience this side of eternity. Yet there is one who will never leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6); who offers the loving, tender warmth of a father that never fails.

Over the course of my life, I have experienced dark nights and deep struggles, but there has been one thing that has consistently sustained me and given me hope: I have a Father who loves me. There is nothing I did to earn that or to “achieve it.” God freely has poured out his love like water to me. His love is filled with light and freedom, filling his children with delight, grace, and peace.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Zephaniah 3:17, which says,

“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

This is, to me, an incredibly beautiful promise.

The Masters Guild teacher, Colin Smith, once said, “If God stopped thinking about you for a second—you wouldn’t exist.” When I heard that, as a bright-eyed student, tears came to my eyes. The implication was clear. That meant that God is always thinking about me. No matter how badly I mess up or how distracted I can get with the things of this world, God never stops thinking about me. In fact, His thoughts are more numerous than the sand in the sea (Psalm 139:18).

I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I can rest in this truth—I have a Father, and he calls me his own!

Molly Mayo

Writer/Editor

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The Runaway Darling

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