Especially if there are fractions involved...

"then you shall help him"

Leviticus 25:35

My son did something I love today.  Something he hasn't been in the habit of doing very often, although I've tried to remind him.

It happened while he was doing his algebra.  He was in his room, and I was in the living room, and he came out and double-checked with me the procedure on one of his problems.

Isn't that awesome?

Oh, sure, maybe that seems like no big deal to you, but his pattern in the past has always been to just skip over hard problems.  He does his homework, but when he gives it to me in the morning, anything he didn't understand, he has just left undone.  He has a very carefree, "oh well, nothing I can do about it" way of thinking. 

And to be honest, in many other ways in his life, it serves him well.  He's easygoing, has a ready smile, and rarely worries about things.  Maybe there's a bit of Scarlett O'Hara in him ("I'll worry about it tomorrow.") 

There's also more than a bit of me in him, as I too, tend to choose the path of least resistance, and low anxiety, as much as I can.

But sometimes hard things need our attention.  Sometimes obstacles need to be dealt with, not just set aside for another day.  So I've encouraged him to look back in his book, to remind himself of the necessary steps, or to come and ask me (or his sister) for help.  Still, when the time comes, he tends to forget.

Today, however, he remembered.  He just popped out of his room long enough to double-check the method for a particular problem.  Then he was back in there to get it done.  

It got me to thinking how important it is to ask for help.  Sometimes we don't want to, because not knowing gives us an excuse to skip it.  Other times we don't want to acknowledge our vulnerability, or admit our lack of understanding. 

Sometimes the answer is as easy as it was for my boy today.  Just a quick reminder of what he already knew, and he was on his way.  Other times we need to be taught ~ or retaught ~ something.  And then we have to go through whatever effort is necessary to actually solve the problem, or deal with the obstacle. 

God is our very present help in difficulties.  Ask, and you shall receive.

~ "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,

Who rides the heavens to help you,

and in His excellency on the clouds" ~

Deuteronomy 33:26

~

The arm bone's connected to the leg bone...

"like a lame man's legs..."

Proverbs 26:7

Okay, so today let's talk about pitcher's leg syndrome, shall we?

Don't try to google that; I just made it up.

My son complained of his leg hurting all day on Tuesday.  Certain movements seemed to give him a sharp pain, high up near his hip.  I wasn't sure what he might have done to strain whatever muscle was hurting him, but he's an active kid, and he'd played baseball the evening before, so there were a myriad of possible causes.

He iced it a little bit, and tried to take it easy, but he had practice again that night, and he knew that might be hard.  So when the Apple of my Eye came home for lunch, we asked him about it, and whether our boy ought to take a practice off, to let it heal.

My sweetie responded to news of my son's leg pain by saying he wasn't surprised.  He said, "It's probably because you pitched so much last night, on that stupid mound."

Huh.  Interesting.  The mound in question is certainly unusual.  Different than any other Little League field on which we play.   The field itself is unusual, too.  The entire infield is dirt, as opposed to just at the basepaths.  The only place there is grass is in the outfield.

And the mound itself is made of something synthetic, with turf instead of grass, and has a pitching rubber attached.  And the whole thing is mobile, presumably so they can move it closer to the plate, or farther away, depending on the age and skill level of the team.

It can also be removed from the field entirely for softball which, as I understand it, is played without a mound.

But I could be wrong on that, so you can google that one.

I was surprised to learn that the pain in my son's leg could be caused by his time pitching.  Seems like the arm is the only member of the body in danger there...  But the material on which he was standing, and the instability of it, was not giving him the foundation he needed, for what he was asking his body to do.

It just astounds me sometimes, how things are connected.  How things are dependent on each other, and the impact ~ negative or positive ~ that circumstances can have, even when we don't realize it.  Sometimes we think we need to hold our shield in front of us, when the attack might be coming from behind, ya know?  I worry about my son's arm being sore when he pitches.  I didn't know I was supposed to be praying for his legs!

We need to be prepared, every day, for whatever the day has in store.  God is our refuge, and our protection in all circumstances.  So be where He is, and He'll be where you are.

~ "You hem me in, behind and before,

     and lay Your hand upon me." ~

Psalm 139:5

~

A Closer Look at Psalm 121

"I will lift up my eyes..."

Psalm 121:1

Now be honest:  How many of you think of Maria Von Trappe when you hear the verse, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help..." ?  It's a verse that paints such a beautiful picture, both of verdancy, but also of hope, and raising one's eyes to the Source of help.  It's a question, to be sure, but the answer quickly follows.   

And the psalmist underscores the trustworthiness of that help ~ "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."  Or, put another way, "My help comes from the Lord, who can do everything."  Or, "My help comes from the Lord, for whom nothing is impossible."

"He will not allow your foot to be moved..."  He will not allow anything to harm you; nothing will even knock you off balance!  And the Lord, your protector will never let down His guard for you.

Verses 5 and 6 are a wonderful illustration of His protection over us ~ wonderful in their accuracy, but also in their nuance. 

"The Lord is your keeper; your shade at your right hand."  Now, I'm a girl who prefers cool to warm, and prefers almost anything to hot, so I particularly like thinking of God as my shade.  But look at those next two lines:  "The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night."  Picture that.  Picture yourself, crouched down, literally sheltered by the hand of God.  Picture it hovering over you, shading you. 

A shade over you in the summer does a great deal to protect you from the heat, and the rays of the sun, which can do damage if your skin gets too much.  But that shade still lets in the light of the sun.  And if you were outside, under the light of a full moon, but with a cover over you, so that the moon's rays didn't shine directly on you, you would still feel the cool of the night.  And you would still see everything around you illuminated by it.

God promises protection, but never does He promise that will be immune from difficulties, or hardship.  Remember: Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were allowed (by God) to go into the fiery furnace.  But He was there, too, protecting them from death.

And therein is the promise of those last two verses:  "The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.  He shall preserve your going out and your coming in, from this time forth, and even forevermore."

These verses contain exciting superlatives:  "all evil," and "even forevermore".  No mistaking what those mean.  And no loopholes that He might wiggle out of ~ not that He would.  But we might, so we tend to think that way sometimes.

"Your going out and your coming in" ~ that's pretty much A to Z, Alpha to Omega.  Evil will never prevail against you; your soul shall be preserved. 

Look.  Look up into the hills, and past that, into the heavens, from whence your Help cometh. 

"... and even forevermore."

Psalm 121:8

~

Under His Wings

"May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,

the God of Israel,

under whose wings you have come to take refuge"

Ruth 2:12

Boaz spoke these kind words to Ruth.  He had heard of her devotion to her mother-in-law, and he was kind and generous to Ruth, letting her glean from his fields, and protecting her as she did so.

I wonder if he realized as he spoke of refuge under God's wings, how God was using him to fulfill this blessing.  I wonder if he realized that his marriage to Ruth would be the "rich reward" of which he spoke.

When Ruth had said to Naomi, "your God be my God," she took refuge with Naomi under the wings of the Lord.  In that time, in that place, there was little else for Naomi and Ruth to do.  As widows, they were left vulnerable, and at the mercy of others.  It is easy to see their reliance on the shelter of His wings.

But today, we are far more independent.  Women ~ and men ~ see no need to rely on God.  The idea of seeking refuge under the intangible wings of an invisible God carries a feeling of cowardice, or of fleeing responsibility.  but He wants us to need Him, or rather, to recognize that need, since it exists whether we acknowledge it or not.

And more than that, He rewards it.  Ruth was rewarded with better treatment while gleaning in Boaz' field, then rewarded most of all by the birth of a son, Obed, who would become the grandfather of King David.  That sacred lineage would lead to the Messiah.

Turns out we are all rewarded for the refuge that Ruth took, under the wings of our God.

~ "Boaz begot Obed by Ruth,

Obed begot Jesse,

and Jesse begot David the king." ~

Matthew 1:5-6

~

Just one foot in front of the other

"you shall teach them"

Exodus 18:20

Saw something cute out my window today.   A father teaching his two kids to roller skate.  They both looked to be in the 4-5 year old range; a boy and a girl.  The father had his skates on, too, and he would skate with one of them between his legs, with him bending down around them so that they were almost completely enveloped by him.  And he was doing all the skating, all they had to do was have skates on their feet, and have them pointed in the right direction. 

And while he was working with one, the other one would be trying to “solo”.  They weren’t so much skating as that walking/rolling thing one does when unsure of themselves.  But they made a little progress while dad worked with their sibling.  Then, in a few minutes, they’d switch.  Each one got some time with dad, then some time to see if they could improve on what they’d accomplished already. 

It’s hard for a dad in that situation sometimes.  Bending over can be tiring.  Improvement can be minimal or at the very least, hard to see.  Patience can be elusive when skills take time to learn.  That’s why it’s got to be someone you love, doing the teaching.  Who better than a dad?

The other thing I thought about was the fact that the kids were wearing helmets.  A helmet, on a small body, can seem huge.  It’s simply a larger percentage of a child’s body weight than it is an adult’s.  It can be uncomfortable, and hot, and even distracting as they try to learn.  And I wondered if those children fought it when their dad told them they had to wear helmets for roller skating.  Were they willing, or did they balk?  Did he have to say to them, “If you don’t wear the helmet, you’re not going skating with me.”  With my kids, that would have been enough.  Time with dad was ~ and still is ~ worth it. 

A good dad ~ as in this case ~ is a wonderful earthly example of God.  Loving, teaching, protecting.  Exciting things happen when Dad says “let’s go!”  I love that about God.  When I step out into adventure with Him, it’s exciting.  I’m going to learn, I’m going to laugh, I’m going to experience something new…. I might fall down and skin my knee, but if I’ve been obedient, I won’t be hurt badly, because I’ll have had my helmet ~ my armor ~ on.  Because He knows what can happen if I don’t. 

And He never asks me to step out of His reach.  Sometimes I’m wrapped up in Him, completely protected, and feeling that.  Other times He asks me to feel as if I’m stepping out on my own ~ courageously, if a little fearfully.  But I’m never out of sight, and I’m never out of reach.  

~ "In the fear of the Lord

 there is strong confidence,

and His children will have a place of refuge" ~

Proverbs 14:26

Nowhere to run to, baby?

"Therefore you shall flee!"

Isaiah 30:16

Our family all got new cell phones a few weeks ago.  The one that the kids use when they're away from home was so old it needed to be replaced, and my Hubby's would never work from home, so he's been wanting to switch to a different company, to get better coverage.  My phone was fine, and I loved it, but we all gotta be on the same plan, so....

So I'm still learning the in's and out's of my new phone.  How to do all the stuff I do ~ which is really just receive calls, and text my kids and hubby ~ and learning any features that are new to me, that I might want to make use of.

So the other day I asked my Awesome Girl to see if I have any games on my phone.  I really am not one to play electronic games, but I thought if they were there, I might make use of it once in awhile when I'm having to wait someplace. 

But it turns out, the only thing my phone came with is a demo version of Pac-Man.

I hate Pac-Man. 

While I don't play a lot of computer games, the ones I do play are things like Solitaire, and Mahjong.  Games where I can relax, take my time, maybe use a little strategy.  And if it's something that's timed, that's fine, as long as it's just me trying to beat my best time. 

And I hate games where I have to rush to avoid losing, or worse ~ games where I'm being pursued.  Those make me crazy; panicky.  And I hate that in a game like Pac-Man, I'm being chased, and I have nowhere to run to.  No "safe" place. 

I need a safe place.  Fortunately, it's only a concern for me in video games.  I think about that sometimes, when something is worrying me, or when I don't know what to do with an upcoming decision.  I can always rely on the knowledge that even if I make a mistake, He'll take care of me.  That if something is wrong in my life, I can flee to Him through prayer, or in His Word.  He promises peace in trials (Philippians 4:6-7); wisdom in confusion (James 1:5); and courage in fear (Isaiah 41:10).

If you gotta flee, He's the place to be.

"Indeed we do come to You,

 for You are the Lord our God"

Jeremiah 3:22