Spontaneity fuels my soul.
Don’t get me wrong. A forced external routine is very healthy for someone like me whose middle name is not consistency or disciplined. The school year helps provide structure for someone who often requires it.
But that don’t mean I don’t like a little excitement!
It was nothing big this morning. Little man and I decided to go straight from dropping Caden off at school to our errands. I always forget the Central library doesn’t open until 10. So we had 40 minutes to kill. We drove by the sunken fountains and Caleb goes, “I wanna go see fountains.”
So we did!
I love getting to say yes to something like that.
 |
| That’s a floss thingy in his mouth. He kept it all morning. |
It’s so interesting to hang with Caleb without his big brother around. Different parts of his personality come out when we’re alone. He’s actually quite a pleaser. I pray all the time he will have good boundaries and not be a total pleaser. But to keep his calm, relational heart.
Now. Don’t get me wrong. He’s still two. Testing boundaries. Figuring out what he can get away with. Does whining work? What about emotional manipulation?
I hope my actions always respond with a, “Nope. Sorry, buddy.” (You can pray I’m consistent!)
I’ve heard our pastor say on several occasions that for every No there’s always a greater Yes. The reason God says No to some things is because He has a better Yes to give us. I like applying that to parenting. No, we can’t jump into the fountain, but we can splash this part with our hands. No, we can’t hit or bite, but we can use our words and get along with our friends. No, we can’t eat a treat right now, but that’s because we’re gonna have a really yummy lunch that will give us more, longer lasting energy when we get home.
Not that toddlers have the ability to absorb the abstraction of that concept, but hopefully in actions they see the greater Yes.
I like each new stage of parenting better than the last. It’s not that I don’t like babies, it’s that toddlers are so funny. I like toddlers, but preschoolers can hold a conversation. I like preschoolers, but school-age kids can absorb abstract lessons. (Haven’t gotten to tweens and teens yet…feel free to hold onto any negative information about those stages!)
The fun in parenting more than one is you get to remember the things you loved in the previous stages.
Toddlers are fun.
Also.
Downtown.
I really enjoy the energy of a city’s downtown.
When we lived in Nebraska, I worked in downtown Lincoln at a bank (yeah, totally not my calling. But I loved my co-workers!).
I really liked walking to a restaurant with a colleague for lunch. Or sitting on the grass near the library for a break. Or meeting people you may not run into everyday in a more suburban setting.
Today when we were finished with fountains, we drove around downtown. I saw a girl I know from church off to the side and it looked like her car was broken down. We pulled over. The funny thing about God is if you talk about wanting to have justice in all your life, even in seemingly small things, He’ll be like, Okay. Hope you were serious!
I amused myself as we walked onto the scene. First because she already had her man there and another guy I don’t know changing the flat tire. And second, even if she didn’t, what was I gonna do?! But we provided moral support. Maybe?
Ah, justice. I want you in the fabric of my lifestyle. Foster points out the Hebrew word most often translated justice in the Old Testament is mishpat. “Mishpat involved morality over and above strict legal justice; it included the observance of good custom or established practice, especially the practice of an equitable distribution of the land. It was used so constantly in conjunction with the Hebrew word for righteousness that the biblical scholar Volkmar Herntrich believes the two concepts should be viewed as virtually synonymous. This is vividly seen in the impassioned plea of Amos,
‘Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream’ (Amos 5:24).
This justice involved the wisdom to bring equitable, harmonious relationships between people. Solomon prayed to receive wisdom to govern the people, and God responded,
‘You have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right [mishpat]’ (1 Kings 3:11).
There were repeated warnings against failure to provide justice:
‘Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow’ (Deut 27:19).
Great was the blessing promised to those who did exercise justice:
‘Happy is he…who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry’ (Ps. 146:7).
We are told that God abhorred all of Judah’s pious rituals because they lacked social relevance. And we, too, can no longer allow people to engage in pious exercises that are divorced from the hard social realities of life. Nor can we tolerate a radical social witness that is devoid of inward spiritual vitality.”
Big sigh. Such balance. As with most things in life. What I love about our church is it is such rich soil for all this. In fact, many many people are already doing justice. Again, most likely way more than I know about since humility doesn’t demand attention.
But the DNA at our church is depth over breadth. Go deep with others as you walk alongside and invest in them. Be faithful and obedient in what God is asking you to do. If you aren’t maintaining your personal spiritual life, you’re missing the point.
I’ve watched this translate in a more collective way, too. When we donate items or money for the Crisis Pregnancy Center. When we show up to pray together for those of another faith here in town and around the world. When we collected school supplies for a sister church last year or our group’s outreach this year.
Foster goes on with the second emphasis in Micah 6:8: compassion.
“The theme of compassion weaves its way throughout the Old Testament and can be vividly seen in the theologically rich word hesed. Hesed is so laden with meaning that the translators struggle to find an English equivalent, often rendering it, ‘loving-kindness’ or ‘mercy.’
But hesed also carries with it the idea of endurance or faithfulness. It is most frequently used in reference to God’s unwavering compassion for his people.
His wonderful hesed is from everlasting to everlasting (Ps 103:17).
It endures forever (Ps 106:1).
However (and here is the great challenge), this covenant love, this durable mercy, which is so central to the character of God, is to be reflected in our lives as well. God declares through Hosea the prophet,
‘I desire steadfast love [hesed] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings’ (Hos 6:6).
But most amazing of all is the way in which the biblical writers bring together the justice of mishpat and the compassion of hesed.
To give people what is due them is one thing; the quality of spirit through which we relate to those people is quite another.
Zechariah received this mighty word of the LORD:
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments [mishpat], show kindness and mercy [hesed] each to his brother, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart’ (Zech 7:9-10).
Hosea tenderly pleaded with the people,
‘So you, by the help of God, return, hold fast to love [hesed] and justice [mishpat], and wait continually for your God’ (Hos 12:6).
And of course Micah:
‘He has showed you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice [mishpat], and to love kindness [hesed],
and to walk humbly with your God?’ (Micah 6:8)
Compassion and justice blended call us to simplicity of life.”
(Foster, pages 28-32)
This got long. Have a great afternoon!