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.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

33. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-PSALM 46:1-11(God is our Refuge and our Strength)

The old lady closed her bible after spending nearly half an hour reading and meditating. She had chosen Psalm 46, one of her favorite psalms and one which always gave her a feeling of joy and confidence. Turning to her grand daughter Ana, who was seated comfortably next to her reading the latest Harry Potter story, she said:
“Ana would you like me to read to you from the Bible about God’s promise to protect and strengthen us in times of trouble?”
Ana nodded affirmatively, as she closed her book. Her grandmother then opened her bible to PSALM 46, Verses 1-11 and began to read:



God is our refuge and our strength.



He always helps in times of trouble.



So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes,



or the mountains fall into the sea,



even if the oceans roar and foam,



or the mountains shake at the raging sea.
“God confirms to us that he is our refuge and our strength. When you think of “refuge”, you think of a safe place where you will not be harmed, and with God’s power and strength behind us, who would dare attack us. He assures us that he will always be present in times of trouble and therefore we must not be afraid even in the worst conditions, whether it be earthquakes, or avalanches, or storms, or even a tsunami as we recently had in Japan.”
Ana sat up and tugging at the old lady’s sleeves to attract her attention said;
“Gramma this is also like what happened in Haiti when so many people died after the earthquake. I remember some of the preachers said that this was God’s punishment for rejecting him. Is that really true?"
The old lady paused briefly, obviously concerned about impact of the misguided words of those foolish and misinformed preachers, and in a strong tone of rejection said:
“No Ana, those people are very wrong. God is a God of love and does not ever do this. Let me just continue to read Verse 4 and you will understand:”



There is a river that brings joy to the city of God,



the holy place where God Most High lives.
“This is God’s promise to all of us who believe. God is like a river whose spiritual influence is flowing in the life of every believer bringing the peace and security of his kingdom. He does not punish, rather he rewards his people with his love and protection.”
The old lady waited to be sure that her young charge assimilates what she had just stated, and then continued to read Verses 5-9:



God is in that city, and so it will not be shaken.



God will help her at dawn.



Nations tremble and kingdoms shake.



God shouts and the earth crumbles.



The Lord All-Powerful is with us;



the God of Jacob is our defender.



Come and see what the Lord has done,



the amazing things he has done on the earth.



He stops wars everywhere on the earth.



He breaks all bows and spears



and burns up the chariots with fire.



“These words, my dear child, are God’s way of telling us in extreme detail that he will protect us no matter the conditions. He invites you to see for yourself that whether nations tremble, and kingdoms shake he will defend and protect us. He stops wars and destroys they weapons. He is all powerful. We must remain strong in our faith in God, and we can be right there representing Christ in meeting the needs in confidence.”
At this point, the old lady turned to Ana and gently hugging her in a way that only a loving grand mother can do, continued to read Verses 10-11:





God says,



"Be still and know that I am God.



I will be praised in all the nations;



I will be praised throughout the earth."



The Lord All-Powerful is with us;



the God of Jacob is our defender.
“This, my sweet child, is one of the most beautiful paragraphs in the whole bible. It is one that I learnt many years ago when I was your age and one that I commend you to learn and apply to everything you do. He advises us to be calm in all our trials and tribulations and rest in the knowledge that he is present to bring us through. Truly you will be faced with challenges and disasters throughout your life. Some of these will be from natural causes and others, man made, but in all we can rest securely in God’s promise “to be still and know that I am God”. This reminds me so much of the words contained in the Gospel of John Chapter 16, Verse 33. This says it all:"



I have told you these things, so you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.



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