babies a redemptive element of poverty?
isaiah 54: 1 “sing, o barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband, says the Lord”. though initially this passage makes me think of women i know who may be struggling to get pregnant- ultimately it’s an image of Jerusalem- the israelits- during exile, and the call to rejoice even in your suffering and rise above your situation. wow, easier said than done. it reminds me of what happened to the israelites when they were first slaves in egypt. what did they do? the bible tells us they multiplied. egypts officials were concerned because even in oppression, they wouldn’t stop populating!
i think about our current day and age, some of the most poverty stricken places can have the highest populations. this could be due to many, many things, none of which i am an expert in. but as i personally reflect on this passage, i am struck with a thought. what is the most beautiful miracle God has ever done, with exception to Jesus Christ? Creating something from nothing- a baby. i am a firm believer that children are God’s greatest miracle, maybe that is why i love them so much. and if that is the case, in places where it seems God has literally abandoned people to pain and suffering, oppression, injustice, poverty, plagues and illness- it is in those places that we also find many of his greatest miracles. ever thought about that? experts say even in times of recession when many people wh, like we face in the us now, we can expect there to be more births. interesting.
now what i have the hardest time excepting is that while God provides his greatest miracles, maybe as a reminder of his presence, what is happening to these children? more pain, suffering, illness and possibly even death. that breaks my heart. that is the broken and sin-filled world we live in.
isaiah 54: 7-8, “for a brief moment i abandoned you, but with deep compassion i will bring you back. in a surge of anger i hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness i will have compassion on you, says the Lord your Redeemer”. there is the word again. redeemer. redeem. redemption. to jerusalem he reminds them of his return- which is his son jesus christ. to us i believe he is reminding us of eternity with him, when we accept his role in our life as redeemer. and thankfully all those little miracles who may not grow up to know the redeemer, he has a place for them too.
maybe babies are the beauty from ashes of poverty?
dedications and baptisms tomorrow
I get to be a part of 3 dedications and 4 infant baptisms tomorrow. i don’t know what it is, but lately I have been getting so excited about this event for families. It is such a special and meaningful time. I think as parenting gets more challenging, moving from caring for a baby to caring for a toddler who needs rules, boundaries, guidelines, discipline, and knowledge of God’s love for him, I realize the importance of having people around me, advising and supporting me. It’s very important to have help during the first year with food, and advice on health, and care for a baby, but the type of support needed for dealing with tantrums, and independent will, and teaching young children how to love others and love God iss differen than that first year. I obviously dont’ have older kids, but I think it is this way for all different stages. can’t wait ’til the teenage years…oh boy. but i am thankful for the people in my life who have helped corey and i and inspired us to strive for excellence in our parenting- thank you.
raising kids of faith class review
i forgot to post this a few weeks ago- in typical mom trying to do too many things style:
so this past weekend, we put on a class for parents focusing on children’s faith and how parents and the church help kids to live “faith-filled” lives. it was scary (because I’m such a new parent), and extremely exciting (because I have so much passion for the topic) and lots of fun. I was pleased to see each of the parents there, but honestly disappointed that more families didn’t come. I know people are busy and weekends are hard, and babies need naps- but I just feel like it’s such an important topic for people to get together about. I hope the next class we do like this will take place at a time that works for more people to come.
not a complete review but i just wanted to post this before i forget for another month. more later, i’m sure…ha!
bragging rights
every once in a while I feel the right to brag about what an amazing photographer my husband is. and it’s not just that he can take a good picture, or do some editing, which many of us- myself NOT included- it’s that he is so gifted artistically and technically, and yet it all comes from his heart. He graciously accepts my ineptness when it comes to taking photos and praises the 1 out of 100 that I take well. Thanks babe. So this post is to boast of my husband, which I know the bible tells us not to do, but hopefully God can let this one slip, and also to show off our beautiful family.
two-year old tantrums
We just had a wonderful afternoon at the church staff lunch today. Of course, Ezra didn’t want to leave, but we coerced him into his carseat because all his “Friends” including pastor Eugene were there at the car waving goodbye. When i parked the car in front of our house, Ezra’s happiness quickly escalated to whining as he said, “i don’t to get out, keep going mommy…go back”.
He lost his spine in typical two-year old fashion as I unbuckled him and carried him inside the house. I then witnessed an astounding 20 minute-but feels like- 1 hour- full-blown tantrum. it was like satan himself had entered my beautiful loving son. no profanity, but he did yell at me to “stop that”, “get out”, “no talking” as I tried to calmly re-direct him, reprimand him, give him time-out, etc. Nothing was working, and I desparately needed to put Josiah down for a nap. I was hesistant to leave Ezra alone even for a moment for fear of the damage he was capable of doing to himself or the house on his rampage, but he was cornered in his room. So I quickly ran downstairs to put Josiah down, while listening to Ezra continue his crying and ranting upstairs. I came back upstairs trying to “ignore the misbehavior” and let him calm himself down. I passed by his room briefly, and through the screaming, stomping and tears I heard a faint, mommy come find me. My heart, though frazzled and frustrated and worn at the edges, melted.
He had had enough time to be mad, even in his madness/sadness and seeming anger at me for not “taking him back”, he needed me, wanted me. That felt good. He is now happily eating dinner and making music with his instruments: a cup, spoon and his hand and voice. I still feel fragile from the last hour, but I can’t forget those haunting and healing words, mommy come find me.
an egg-cellent easter celebration
I must confess, I don’t have very many memories of childhood easter egg hunts. I think I’ve read enough about them, I probably have more hunts in my imagination than I have actually experienced. So I was a little nervous (just a litttle) to plan Quest’s first Easter Egg Hunt.
But now it is history- and a pleasant history in my mind. Yes, there were hiccups, but mostly not noticeable ones to most people. The Easter egg hunt went very well today. I only heard counts of one injury, a twisted ankle, and no tears to my knowledge. There were a few kids who showed up after the hunt…oops! Next year we will set aside more eggs than we did this time around.
The activity stations were fun- a little crazy, maybe a little disorganized- but fun.
The hotdogs- well enough said. We didn’t eat all 300, but we worked our way through quite a few! And the kids were so great! They shared their eggs and prizes, and took turns, and waited patiently when they didn’t want to. It was a blast! Can’t wait for next year! I would post pictures- but of course I didn’t take any! We’ll have to wait for some other people to post!
got goosebumps
I just read a childrens story called benjamin’s box and it gave me goosebumps. Its the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through his crucifixion and resurrection- all through the eyes of a little boy named Benjamin who collects treasures in his treasure box, from the different events that take place over the course of the week- like a tuft of donkey fur from the donkey Christ rode in on, to a broken cup used at the last supper, to a piece of the cloth that Jesus was buried in, stuck on a branch near the tomb. It isn’t until Jesus resurrection that this boy realizes the significance of his treasures, and the way he can tell others about Jesus with all these things he has collected. I shouldn’t be telling you the story, you should just read it- it’s very worth it.
Christ death and resurrection is always meaningful, but I have found that it is most meaningful when I stop and reflect on it in more than one way. Just rememebering the account of it in the bible is not enough. Exploring the story and imagining the story brings more heartache, sorrow, and feelings of love and grace in my life. Looking at the story- like though the eyes of a child, changes perspective and allows me to process the truth and gospel message in a greater way.
