Like a Weaned Child With its Mother

This past year I learned to love Jesus more by building on a lesson he taught me ten years ago.

It was one of those desert-like seasons of life. After many years of fruitful ministry, caring in practical ways for our missionary colleagues, our job was being restructured into obsolescence. We were willing to serve in new capacities, but after three years of waiting, our mission leaders still could not tell us where we might serve.

At the same time, things with the new pastor at our local church were not good. Intimidated by close relationships we had formed with people in the congregation during our decade of worship there before he came, he seemed determined to destroy our reputation with the congregation. In addition, he was having success.

I was concerned about the effect of this new pastor on our daughter, still living at home with us and affected personally by his actions. 

As a new month began, I fled for refuge to the Psalms, reading the entire book in a month, five chapters a day.  When I came to Psalm 131, the three short verses leapt off the page: 

My heart is not proud, Lord,

    my eyes are not haughty;

I do not concern myself with great matters

    or things too wonderful for me.

But I have calmed and quieted myself,

    I am like a weaned child with its mother;

    like a weaned child I am content.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord

    both now and forevermore. 

Yes, my heart was not proud, nor were my eyes haughty. I was broken hearted at circumstances I could not change and felt like I was failing.

I thought about what a weaned child is like with its mother. No longer looking to her as a source of food, a weaned child is happy to sit on her lap, doing nothing but being content in her presence. I began to imagine myself crawling into God’s lap, not worrying about anything greater than being in his presence.  

At that moment, all my life seemed to fall into the category of being great matters that were too wonderful for me to understand. There was great comfort in recognizing that.

During this past year with COVID-19 restrictions and concerns, I have made time to be that weaned child, to climb up onto God’s lap, just to be with him, to sit and snuggle, to not think about great things that are too wonderful for me to understand. I am content to put my hope in the Lord, now and forevermore.

Key Quotation

No longer looking to its mother as a source of food, a weaned child is happy to sit on her lap, doing nothing but being content in her presence.

Rachel Kull, SIL International