Saturday, January 17, 2009

From, Teresa Kimbel

On the way home this afternoon from the ladies brunch, which was so graciously hosted by Neva Richards and attended by almost 50 women and was spoken to by Karen Preston who did such a wonderful job)… whew! …I thought of a passage in the Psalms, Psalm 133, which has to do with brothers living together in unity. I was going to use it to expound upon how well I thought it depicted us today as Christian sisters, but when I went read it my eyes fell on the Psalm I think the Holy Spirit wanted me to see in the first place. Here it is…just three short verses.

Psalm 131
My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.

The words that caught my eyes were in verse 2: "But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." Normally, the words stilled and quieted are not the words which come to mind when someone describes what a weaned child is like when he’s with his mother. But these are the words David uses when he describes his soul.
Even though on the surface these words sound contradictory, after meditating on them I don’t think they are.
Would you please share with us what you think they mean?

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2 comments:

  1. For a weaned child to be still and quiet with the mother who nursed him, he has to be completely and utterly content in her presence, knowing from whom his blessings flow. He has to know that mom has taken care of him and will take care of him in the future. He does not doubt the future because he remembers the past. He has to have faith in the one who has met his needs. He has to trust her completely. He takes comfort in her presence rather than her presents.

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  2. I don't think I would have understood this the same way I do now before having a child. It does sound contradictory at first. But, now having been on both sides, (having had my needs met completely by earthly caregivers and by God, and having met the needs of a child who has been totally dependant on me at times) I see how this image can represent being in God's peaceful presence with no concerns over "great matters or things too wonderful for me.'

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