Mother and Child

Scripture

Psalm 131

Song of Quiet Trust 

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹ O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

³ O Israel, hope in the Lord
    from this time on and forevermore.  (NRSV)

Devotion

All day, people have been telling me how tired they are after the events of the last 48 hours.  Much has happened, yet much remains the same.  A pandemic still rages.  Election officials still haven't announced who will lead the United States for the next 4 years.  Our nation, our communities, and even people's families are still as divided as ever.  It's little wonder that many people seem weary.  Some folks have decided to pause and reflect on where we are, what brought us to this place, and where we should go from here.

Modern Americans are not generally comfortable with taking time out for reflection.  Our society encourages us to keep boldly moving forward in pursuit of big dreams--to bulldoze ahead even when the way is unclear or we have misgivings about the path we are on.  There are times when such single-minded attention on the "big things" helps us reach amazing heights.  But there are also times when we find ourselves in physical, emotional, spiritual trouble.  In moment such as these, it is best to take time out, quiet our souls, and put our trust in God.

The psalmist describes this quieting of the soul as being like a mother soothing her newly-weaned child.  There are many things about the world that the baby does not understand--including why they are no longer allowed to nurse at their mother's breast.  Babies tend to be pretty upset about being weaned.  Still, children trust their mother enough that she can soothe and comfort them in the midst of their confusion.

Once children are calm and quiet, they are able to rest in their mother's presence.  They can take comfort in the fact that (while there still many things that are too great for them to understand), their mother will always take care of them.  After those babies grow to adulthood, they will be able to understand how the weaning process helped them mature into the person they are meant to be.

 Like the Mother of the just-weaned child, God draws us to her and cares for us during our moments of anger, sorrow, and confusion.  If we let ourselves rest in God's arms for a while, we too can find comfort and peace.  We can trust that God will always be here to take care of us...and that everything that currently feels to big or too great to understand will become clear on day.  On that day, we will see how even this moment of pain and misunderstanding has helped us grow.

As we move forward into the next days and weeks, there are going to be a lot of conflicting voices telling us what we should do, who we should believe, and what we should learn from our current situation.  Some people will crow triumphantly.  Some will shout angry words.  Some will weep bitter tears while others dance in the streets.  Eventually, we will begin to move forward as a nation.  There will continue to be a lot of hard decisions to make, and there will inevitable be moments when the tasks before us feel too great to understand...let alone accomplish.

Before we set our minds to all that work, let us take a moment to let our souls rest in our good Mother's arms.  Let's quiet our tongues...our minds...our very hearts and simply trust in God.  We can have faith that just as a mother calms her upset children and helps them continue to grow into the people they were meant to be, so will God help us.  As we hit pause and allow ourselves to be quiet for a while, we make room for the voice of God to whisper words of love and encouragement to our weary hearts.  That whisper will help us grow in faith, love, and understanding.  And it will remind us to keep hoping in the LORD, now and forever.

Prayer

 Good and Loving Mother, this wold is a confusing place.  When it all seems to great and marvelous for us to understand, help us seek the calm and quiet of your arms.  May your voice comfort us and help us reflect for a while on your grace.  and when the time is right, may you help us move onward.