PREAMBLE

PREAMBLE

“Teach a child in the way he should go;

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

These words taken from Proverb 22:6 speak loudly of the responsibility of parents and caregivers to the children entrusted to them. In these modern days with the advent of such a large and diverse selection of electronic gadgets, our children are bombarded with so many distractions from every direction that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with their spiritual development.

We as adults, often overwhelmed by the demands for survival, are guilty of neglecting our responsibilities of ensuring our children’s growth. We are losing sight of the fact that at this stage children are at their most receptive phase for absorbing information and unless we make an effort to help them, they are likely to acquire wrong information from other sources.

I believe no one is better equipped or better placed to do the job than the parent or the caregiver. By making use of every opportunity to teach the words of Jesus Christ, to read the Holy Bible as well as by setting personal examples we can build our children’s faith and offer them alternative examples to live by. In this way we can prepare them to deal with the many and varied temptations they will face in life as they go forward.

These stories under the banner “The Old Lady and Ana” grew out of a discussion I had with my cousin Starr Sabga during which we lamented that our children are not being exposed to reading and discussing the bible as we were. We both felt that as a result of this we are missing a very important opportunity to expose them to God’s words and running the risk of losing them.

The stories are strictly my interpretation of selected passages from the Bible based on my Christian education and on my own life experience. They are meant for the younger child, as examples of how we may use day to day experiences to learn about God’s word. They are by no means exhaustive but I trust they may serve to get other parents and caregivers to do the same.

If this happens, then I would consider myself fully rewarded.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

8. THE OLD LADY AND ANA -PSALM 27(Confidence in God)

Little Ana put down her Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book which she was reading for the third time and walked deliberately towards her grandmother who was sitting on her favorite chair in the family room.
“Gramma” she asked “Do you think God knows who I am and does he have time to think about me and to help me if I get into trouble?”
The Old Lady held out her hand and pulled Ana towards her and with a voice ringing with confidence replied:
“Yes indeed, my child. You, like every one of us, are his child and in the same way your parents take care of you and protect you, so does God in every conceivable way. In fact there is a section in the bible in which King David expressed total faith that God was not only his light and his salvation, but his protector, let us read it together”.
Opening her favorite Bible to Psalm 27 she began to read:



The Lord is my light and my salvation


— whom shall I fear?


The Lord is the stronghold of my life


—of whom shall I be afraid?
when my enemies and my foes attack me,


they will stumble and fall.
Though war break out against me,


even then will I be confident.

“You see Ana, the very wise King David had no doubt about God’s love. In fact his main concern was whether God will bother to accept him to dwell under his care and protection. Listen:”




One thing I ask of the Lord,


this is what I seek:


that I may dwell in the house of the Lord


all the days of my life,


to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord


and to seek him in his temple.

Ana, somewhat perplexed that King David, the wisest of men, might have doubts about God accepting him, listened intently as her grandmother continued reading:




Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;


be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"


Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,


do not turn your servant away in anger;


you have been my helper.


Do not reject me or forsake me,


O God my Savior.

Ana was now very confused, that King David should continue to ask God to be merciful to him and not reject him, looked at her grand mother and asked:
“Gramma, I am very worried. If King David, a great and wise man, could be so unsure of whether God will notice him and take care of him, how can I be sure that God will even bother to look at me?”

The old lady sensing Ana’s disappointment drew her closer, and placing her arm around the child’s shoulder, said in a calm and reassuring voice:
“King David said this because he recognized that he was only human and although he knew otherwise, he still could not believe that God will pay attention to his needs. This is a sign of true humility and you will see it among people who are genuine. He wanted to be sure that he was worthy of God’s graces. He was not ashamed to admit to his faults and weaknesses, and was not ashamed to ask for help. Listen to this:”




Though my father and mother forsake me,


the Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way, O Lord;


lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,


for false witnesses rise up against me,


breathing out violence.

“You see Ana, this great man, a King among his people, was not afraid to express his fears and his worries, and to ask God to teach him to stay on the straight way. He knew that his enemies will do anything to destroy him yet confident that God will receive him.”

Ana was relieved, and turning to her grandmother with a look of sudden revelation, said:
"Gramma now I understand why we always pray to God before receiving the Holy Communion with these words;"



“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,


but just say the word and I shall be healed”
The old lady, startled by her grand daughter’s remarkable insight, sighed deeply and replied:



“Ana, you are so right, we must never ever lose our humility in the sight of our God, even as we remain confident in the faith that he will always be present for us. King David expressed this in these words”:

"I am still confident of this:


I will see the goodness of the Lord


in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;


be strong and take heart ,


and wait for the Lord "




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