a cinnamon raisin revelation!

Early morning has never been my cup of tea.  But I must admit to a growing fondness for what had previously been termed 'that ungodly hour of the day'!  Several times this week I was awakened at 5am by my sweet son's cry.  Upon arriving at his crib, however, I would find him fast asleep!  At this point I had a decision to make; crawl back under the covers or embrace the day.  There was certainly a few mornings where the covers won out.  But, the times I chose to relish the quiet beginnings of a new day were, by far, my favorite!

Sitting on the ground, wrapped tight in a blanket, I gazed up at the twinkling of a few remaining stars making their exit into the awakening horizon.  God is incredibly romantic.  Another of my mornings included a latte and cinnamon raisin bagel.  As I spread on the cream cheese I asked God to please speak to me as I opened up my Bible.  Before I even got to my chair I already had David and Goliath in mind, so that's where I turned.
Let me just say, I have never seen things from Saul's point of view.  Until last Tuesday, that is!  I love that this Book is ever changing, always offering new revelation to those willing to dive in!  And this particular read through had me empathizing with King Saul.  Two armies are at a stand still.  The Philistines have sent out their champion; a monstrous giant of a man, spewing obscenities and calling down curses on Yahweh.  And now Israel's representative is supposed to take to the field.  This battle tactic wasn't necessarily to see which side could produce the better warrior.  This was a common method of warfare; the armies' way of surrendering the outcome of the battle to their gods.  Saul was well aware and yet he doesn't send anyone out.  The taunting continues for 40 days, morning and evening!
Enter David, the sheep herder.  Little brother is bringing rations to his siblings on the battle field.  He overhears Goliath's spiel and is utterly shocked upon realizing that Israel has no response!  'Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?'  1 Samuel 17:26  Word gets back to Saul that this son of Jesse is fired up and the King sends for him, to clarify, 'You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.' 1 Sam. 17:33  And yet, David convinces him otherwise!  He assures King Saul that he's killed his fair share of wild animals and 'The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.' 1 Sam 17:37

This is where I began to realize why God had me reading this.  The sleep training continues this week and, although things have improved dramatically, I would definitely consider this one of the more 'monstrous giants' we've faced.  It is extremely difficult for this mama to kiss her little boy, tuck him in for a nap and then leave the room.  No, I don't leave him in there to cry for hours on end.  But, I will let him 'work things out' on his own, simply going in for the occasional 'sh, sh, sh' ing and retrieving of the pacifier that he has managed to fling out of the crib!  This process can be quite lengthy and I start convincing myself that I should really just pick him up and rock him to sleep...
But lets jump back to 1 Samuel where Saul is busy outfitting David in his own armor.  The shepherd boy takes one lap around the tent and says (my paraphrase) 'Oh, that ain't happenin'!'  His weapon of choice ends up being a simple sling and five smooth stones.  Hardly par for the course, in Saul's opinion.  David's armor, well.. in his own words to Goliath, 'You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.' 1 Samuel 17:45  This 'simple shepherd boy' (future king of Israel!) knows Who has his back.  And Saul is watching from the side lines, anxiously gnawing off a few fingernails!

You all know how the story ends.. David slings a single stone into the giant's forehead and then uses Goliath's sword to cut off his head!  The victory belongs to God and the Philistines tuck tail and run, only to be pursued and slaughtered by a re-inspired Israelite army.  But as I pored over these words this particular morning, I felt God impress upon me this truth: I can not fight Owen's battles for him, as much as I want to.  Gulp!  Life is a journey and full of obstacles that must be overcome.  Of course, as a mother I will do everything in my power to 'shelter' this little man from all unnecessary pain and hardship.  But the truth is: it's inevitable!  Owen will face scary, hard and seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  It breaks my heart to realize this.  But at the same time, this fact is what makes parenting so incredibly exciting and vital!  It is up to Derek and I to raise up a warrior, one that knows Who has his back and gives him the strength to overcome!

This may seem a bit extreme.  After all, we're just talking about nap time!  And yet, I believe God is preparing me for a lifetime of obstacles to be conquered; allowing my son the space to discover his own strengths!  He is gently bringing it to my attention that for all the times requiring intervention there will be an equal amount of instances where, like it or not, I will need to let Owen learn the lesson himself.  His battles can not be won by layering on all of MY armor, in fact, that will only drag him down.  I can, however, live by example, praying that he will add to his own arsenal the weapons he sees his Dad and I utilize on a regular basis.  The rest is up to God and I know that His love is higher than the heavens, His faithfulness reaching to the skies.. Psalm 108:4

                                         

I got a little carried away with my story telling, so here's the short and sweet version of the rest of our week..
Derek continues to stay busy with landscaping, tree work and coffee.  And when he is unsure of what he will fill his day with we've learned to simply tell God.  My favorite example from last week: over breakfast Derek prayed that God would give him something to do, that he might be productive that day.  The phone literally went off within 10 minutes; friends from church wondering when Derek might be able to fit them into his schedule.  They wanted him to trim their monstrous guava tree!  'Hmm.. how does today sound!?" :)  God is so good!

We ventured to the northern part of the island this weekend to satisfy my 'fall' cravings!  As you can tell from the pictures, the pumpkin patch, corn maze and sunflower fields were exactly what I was hoping for!!  Derek also surprised me with a stop at my favorite spot for crepes!  And Owen remedied the long lines and anxious customers with his sweet, cooing 'hi' sounds!  He truly is our little beam of sunshine.  We're not the only ones partial to this little man, either!  Our tiny son acquired several girlfriends this week.  One little lady flirted with him throughout the entire church service, and his 'older' (four year old) sweetheart sat us down at the bookstore and instructed Owen in the ways of chameleons!  

 What a great God we serve!  May we go into this new week with the confidence that He will give us exactly what we need to face whatever giant blocks our path.  Whether that's the unknowns of the future, surrendering our need to be in control or simply learning how to take a nap.  And, for the record, I just put Owen in his crib.. he let me know his objections, resigned himself to sucking on his hand and was asleep in less than 3 minutes!  So proud of my little warrior.
When approaching Goliath, it says David 'ran quickly to the battle line to meet him'.  He was confident that his God had it under control.  (Or he knew that he was less likely to throw up if he just started running... )  May this be true in our lives; as we embrace the challenges life throws our way, may it be with an attitude that makes the world acknowledge something more powerful at work within us, someone much greater fighting on our behalf.  As David said, 'All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's..' 1 Samuel 17:47