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.

Monday, September 5, 2011

36. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-SIRACH 2:1-6 (Seeking God's Guidance)

Ana walked slowly towards her grand mother, who was seated comfortably in her favorite chair, and sat down beside her. After a short while, she looked up at the old lady’s smiling face and asked her:
“Gramma, how can I prepare my self to be sure that what I do in my life will satisfy God?”
The old lady, impressed by the depth of the question, at first sat quietly as she tried to formulate a meaningful reply and then replied slowly and deliberately:
"My dear child, it does not matter what career you ultimately choose. What matters most is that, in all things you serve God and live by his guidance and his teachings, irrespective of any hardships you may encounter. Let me refer you to a passage from the Holy Bible contained in Sirach Chapter 2, Verses 1-6, in which God advised us directly and unequivocally. In my mind this contains the most straightforward and practical advice to anyone who truly wants to serve God and abide by his teachings. Let me read Verses 1and 2:"

My child, when you come to serve the Lord,

you must prepare yourself for testing.
Set your heart right and be steadfast,

and do not be impetuous in time of calamity.


“Notice from the outset God warns you that choosing to serve him is not going to be easy and that you must be ready and willing to deal with problems and hardships that may arise. There will be testing and questions from others or from you, and times of uncertainty and concern that you are doing the right thing. This is why your faith in God has to be strong and unyielding and possess the trust and patience to overcome any crisis.”
Little Ana, eyes wide open with concern and apprehension, tugged at her grand mother’s sleeve and asked her, in a tone that relayed her sense of despair:
“But gramma, that has to be very difficult to do. People are always trying to bring you down, how does God expect us to overcome these people?”
The old lady nodded understandably, and continued to read Verses 3-5:

Cling to Him and do not depart,

so that your last days may be prosperous.

Accept whatever befalls you,

and in times of humiliations be patient.

For gold is tested in the fire,

and those found acceptable,

in the furnace of humiliation.

“The answer is quite clear if we trust the Almighty. We must have the confidence and faith to trust God irrespective of what may happen to us, or what humiliation that we experience. We are being tested and we must be prepared to endure all this and remain calm and patient, knowing that God will not abandon us. In the same way Gold can only be acceptable after it goes through fire, so also will we become stronger and better by enduring shame and humiliation.”
Pausing to allow her words to sink in, the old lady waited for a response from her grand child. After a short while Ana sat up and asked:
“What then does God expect us to do?”
The old lady smiled and lifting her voice, read with confidence, Verse 6:

Trust in Him, and He will help you,

make your ways straight, and hope in Him.

Then raising her voice a little in order to emphasize the point, she turned to Ana and stated:

“His message is simple as it is everlasting. Have faith and trust in the Almighty God and he will always help you. Stay committed to his teachings, live your life straight and honest in every way and never, ever, lose hope in the promise of God’s salvation.”




Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)