Saturday, July 23, 2005
From Tantrums to Whales
At Talitha Koum this week one of our 4 year-old boys, let's just call him "Kevin", and I had one of our usual rumbles, which typically follow this manner:
1. It's time for nap, but Kevin doesn't want to take a nap so he makes whatever noise he can to keep himself awake
2. In order to calm him down, I approach him and try to gently instruct him to quiet down so the others can rest
3. Kevin responds with a varied course of profanities, sometimes hurling toys in my direction
4. So that the other children aren't roused from sleep, I usually carry him into another room until he calms down, all the while he's clawing, screaming, and hitting me
5. After 10-20 minutes, the tirade has subsided like a brief Texas summer storm and Kevin has suddenly turned into a pleasant, almost angelic, little child.
6. Kevin and I spend the remaining hour or so playing and pretending and frolicking (ok, maybe not frolicking) as if we're the oldest and bestest of friends.
This week's rumble was no different really than the other rumbles of past. However, when we got to the 6th phase, our frolicking was replaced by Kevin's request for me to read him the story of Jonah out of a children's book. (Granted, he didn't specifically request for me to read to him about Jonah...but rather the huge whale that was pictured on the cover of the book.)
For some reason, as I was reading the story to Kevin, a totally new concept hit me regarding God, Jonah, and everything in-between. When Jonah was swallowed whole by the whale, it was by God's grace. (This may seem rather obvious to you. Forgive me, I'm slow.) You see, I've always looked at Jonah's intestinal vacation as just the beginning of his troubles. But in reality, the whale provided salvation from his troubles, not to mention certain death. Had the whale not come along, Jonah would have most certainly drowned in the stormy waters.
So as I read the story of Jonah to Kevin, I was comforted by the thought that when things look like they can't get any worse, they actually may already be getting better. I'm sure that the Apostle Paul would agree. I know that being struck blind with God Almighty in front of me would probably have left me feeling as if things are about to go from bad to worse quickly. But Paul's blindness actually saved him from the path he was travelling down.
I can't wait to discover what I get to learn with Kevin this week.
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