Out of the Mouths of Babes

    He was perfect - 9 pounds and 2 ounces of utter bliss. When he decided to make his debut into our world, he did so in just under an hour. He was walking at nine months and talking before that. As he grew, a pattern began to emerge.

   It became obvious that he soaked up everything around him…especially everything he heard.  I also noticed that as he honed his communication skills, I developed the innate ability to sense when something untoward was about to exit his sweet little mouth.  In fact, it was an uneasy – hair standing on the back of my neck – silent alarm that warned me to take evasive measures -- to move him to a safe distance -- out of ear’s reach.  Unfortunately, most instances found him out of arm’s reach.

   This particular day we were in the grocery store.  He was such a good boy!  He sat under the shopping cart, quietly playing, as we moved up and down the aisles.  I noticed, after about the third aisle, that we were meeting the same elderly lady moving in the opposite direction.   Each time she approached us; she would lovingly look down at my little miracle and nod at me as if to say, “Never have I seen a more precious child.  What an awesome mom you must be!”

  As we rounded the end of the fourth aisle and once again headed toward the little lady, she paused and waited.  The suddenness with which the unease came was almost shocking.  Not unlike a wave of nausea, it hit me full on.  She was looking directly at him.  A quick glance at him revealed that he had not noticed.  A surge of relief started up my spine… and then she spoke to him.

   Inside I was saying, “Keep walking lady!  Don’t make eye contact!”  Sadly, she was not picking up the vibe I was putting down.  That is when my world went into slow motion.  She dipped her head down and looked him directly in the eye and said, “My, what a sweet little boy.” It was too late.  I was too far away from him and too close to her to run down the aisle like a runaway train.  Instead,  I watched as he stuck his beautiful, little two year old blond head out from under the cart and with the clarity of a future preacher said, “You a old buzzard.”

  This was another swoon moment for me.  Can’t really remember what I said, if anything, or whether or not I paid for my groceries, or if I simply left my buggy with the elderly lady before hitting the front door.  The one thing that was screaming through my head was “WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!” 

  And then my mind was drawn back to the previous day.  My sweet baby and I had been in the car headed for the mall when an elderly gentleman almost side-swiped our vehicle.  I was furious that his inattention could have hurt my precious cargo!  Without thought I shouted, “YOU OLD BUZZARD!”  

   The ride home that day was unusually quiet.  I explained that what he had said was wrong, because what I had said was wrong. That day, Humility and I became intimately acquainted.  Although sometimes unpleasant to be around, I have a way of bringing us back together.

   Funny how God has a way of making things abundantly clear.

…but set an example for the believers in speech…1 Timothy 4:12

Which Way Are You Running?

  The story of David and Goliath is one of my favorites.  Every time I read it, I am impressed by something fresh and new.  To understand the story is to take a closer look at the characters involved.

Saul:  He was impressive--a head taller than any of the other Israelites.  He was the obvious choice to go out and face Goliath.  But, sadly—he had chosen to go his own way apart from God.  His lack of leadership put the men that had sworn to serve him in the position of being demoralized.  He had even tried to bribe them with money and his own daughter to accomplish the task of removing the giant.   He didn’t understand that Goliath wasn’t the problem—his lack of faith in God was the real issue.

The Israelite army:  For forty days, they drew up the battle lines. For forty days, they endured the humiliating barrage of a trash talking giant.  For forty days, they were too afraid to meet the challenge on the battlefield.  For forty days, they watched their king cower in fear and they followed suit.  They didn’t realize that God was waiting to give them the victory, had they stepped out in faith.

Goliath:  He was a take charge kind of guy.  He decided to, personally, dispatch the Israelite army by conquering their champion.  He was a fighting man from birth and another battle was nothing to him.  He didn’t realize the battle had already been decided, that the Champion he was about to face was actually God Almighty.

The Philistine army:  These men were warriors that were content to put their trust in another man for their salvation.  They were relying on Goliath’s physical attributes to win the victory without realizing that they had already been handed defeat.

David:  He was a young man with enough faith to believe that God was in control.  He believed that God had chosen the Israelite people as His own and that the victory was already in their hands - had they looked beyond the giant on the battlefield.

    With which character do you identify?   What do you do when you are faced with a giant? Do you do what the Israelites did?  Verse 24 tells us they ran in great fear from the giant.  How about the Philistines?  Verse 51 tells us that when they saw their hero was dead, they ran away in defeat.  Or are you more like David? Verse 48 says that David ran quickly toward the giant.  He ran with abandon - headlong toward Goliath.  He was the only one that understood that the battle wasn’t theirs at all—He was simply running to join God on the battlefield.

     Unfortunately, I can see myself in all of the characters.  Some days I have been Saul….unwilling to give up the throne of my life even though the true King is waiting to lead me.  Some days I have been Goliath…self-sufficient and able to handle what is thrown at me, even though the best that I can do is as "filthy rags".   Some days I have been the Israelites….running in fear.  And even a few days I’ve been the Philistines….running in defeat.

     Oh, for the faith of David daily! – to greet each day with the first thought, that no matter what I may face...“If God is for me, who can be against me?”


Scripture Reference:  1 Samuel 2-4; 8-11; 16; 20-25; 32; 40-41; 45-48; 51c