Desire and Mercy
So far, 3.5 years into Grandparentland, I'm a fan. Remembering back, I think I was so busy scrambling somewhat cluelessly when our girls were toddlers that I missed some of the magic of a young life. Now, I find it easy to watch our daughter's daughter wander through her territory of discovery and experience sheer delight at the small things I rush right by, like
discovering and devouring a wild strawberry in the flower bed
giggling into the wind while riding with me on my bike
letting our dog "wash" her face
teaching Grandpa how to dunk his head in the pool
snuggling into a lap to read a book
At the same time, she is plenty often a needy child. She can whine and fuss and cry with the best of them. Her needs are front and center and can wonder why they are not met ... now! She carries desire through her day, and, when her desire is blocked, looks for relief, for mercy. In that way, our granddaughter lives like every other person alive.
Look over this quote I came across recently,
I saw a mother breastfeeding on the train. She covered herself as the child took what she was freely giving. A sacred sharing. Her tilted downward gaze, the shape of her eyes, the curl of her lips, glowed as if transfigured. Time stopped for one eternal moment, and on that specific day, in that specific place, I saw the ancient, beautiful marriage of desire and mercy.. It was the tender gaze of belonging, where the mother's love met the child's desire.
Desire and mercy. The searching for and relief from our aching, our wanting, our real need, something our toddler knows intuitively and we olders too easily forget. Our God fully knows our desires and is the master of mercy. Seemingly very often we get sucked into the current of a too-fast, too-complicated life and miss the quiet majesty of snuggling into God's lap and having our deepest needs met.
The songs sung on the way to Jerusalem at feast time were both to pass the time but also to remind the singers of larger truths. Psalm 131 talks about a healthy childofgod/Parent relationship. It packs much into three short verses.
Oh LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me.
Oh Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever.
We are built to be close to God in all we do. It is where we are most satisfied. We've been designed with desires, and the intent is for us to find mercy in Jesus, whatever we face. This song illustrates how that design lives out at the soul level. As we draw closer, the rest of life falls into an order that makes sense. Let's break these three verses down a bit.
Simplicity centers a healthy faith life
When the writer says, "Oh LORD, my heart is not proud nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me", he declares his compass heading and not that he has arrived. Consider these words aspirational; he is on his way to a certain destination. Whenever the heart is mentioned in scripture, it refers to the center of who I really am and desire to be. The lyrics recognize human limits and lives within them. "Nor do I involve myself..." can best be understood as where identity is found. He isn't measured by his understanding (in the eyes of others) of his grasp of the big issues. This is recognition of what we are built to handle. Like a child, we don't know much compared to the world around us, but God does. A dose of humility seasoned with trust is a good prescription for a healthy faith life. Let go of the anxiety tied to the need to solve every problem, and pray for a simple faith following a true compass that points to a heavenly father.
Practicing trusting God leads to contentment
"Surely I have composed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me." Weaning, whether it is from the breast or my latest unhealthy involvement, is a struggle. Leaving what is known and moving ahead toward growth can be scary. Contentment lives on the other side, but the process can be difficult. But once we grow through one phase of spiritual development to the next, we relax. Picture the fussing toddler coming up to his/her parent, crawling up and curling into the shape of a body of love and acceptance. I have a friend who imagines Jesus embracing him as he prays and it calms his heart as he pours out his desires. This is the mercy of God toward every believer. We are welcomed, accepted, and listened to. It takes practice to center our prayers and hearts. To relax in God's presence looks like releasing the need to move fast, to accomplish, to win, and instead to lean into the Father and allow him space to be God. Ask your father to grant you a composed and quieted soul that trusts that the God who gave his own son to die for us will not let us down now. Relax a bit. God's got this, too.
Our calling card is hope
"Oh Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever" can be seen as both aspirational and inspirational. Aspirational since we intend to grow and mature in our dependence on God, but we know we still have a far piece to go. When we say lines like this out loud, we declare our direction and our destination. Inspirational in that we call others to trust in him along with us. We are called aliens and strangers in our world. Our home is a kingdom still to come. There, not here. Then, not now. Our hope is a firm expectation of a future reality, just not yet seen. So, we take on the role of "reminderers" to other followers of our hope. Reminderers remind others who have placed their trust in Jesus to come along, with biblical hope, for the longest haul.
There is nothing that moves me like when our granddaughter climbs up, unbidden, into my lap. Sometimes we read, other times we take turns telling stories, but any time is a perfect time. She quiets and relaxes and I smile. I can just imagine the father doing the same with you. Crawl up into his lap and tell him the desires of your heart, and ask for his mercy to flow. Now is a fine time to spend some time. Let's go!
And...music to pass some time...
And a couple of semi-funny jokes for the week...
For the first time in many years, an old man traveled from his rural town to the city to attend a movie.
After buying his ticket, he stopped at the concession stand to purchase some popcorn.
Handing the attendant $10, he couldn't help but comment, "The last time I came to the movies, popcorn was only 15 cents."
"Well, sir," the attendant replied with a grin, "You're really going to enjoy yourself. We have sound now."
__________
I went to the doctor for my yearly physical.
The nurse starts with the basics. "How much do you weigh?" she asks.
"115," I say.
The nurse puts me on the scale. It turns out my weight is 140.
The nurse asks, "Your height?"
"5 foot 8," I say.
The nurse checks and sees that I only measure 5'5".
She then takes my blood pressure and tells me it is very high.
"OF COURSE IT'S HIGH!" I scream, "When I came in here I was tall and slender! Now I'm short and fat!"