Before he was a year old, Silas started talking. Sometimes I knew what he was saying and sometimes I didn’t. For some reason he said, “Bear,” over and over and over. He and another toddler at church carried on quite a conversation across the aisle with just that one word. But there was no question at all what he meant when he looked across the room, spied Brooke, then smiled, held out both arms and said, “Mamamamamamama,” as he toddled across the floor. No, he was not saying, “Mama.” He was saying, “There is the most important person in the world.” Then he looked at Nathan, pointed to the ceiling and said, “Up!” No, that didn’t mean, “Pick me up.” It meant, “Throw me up in the air as high as you can,” something he loved for his daddy to do.
Mothers can decode better than anyone. When Lucas was eleven months old, he had already been walking five or six weeks. He often padded to the refrigerator, hung on to the door, and said, “Dee.” That meant, “I want a drink, please.” Nathan, at thirteen months, would hold out his biscuit half and say, “Buuuuh.” (Pronounce that like the word “burr” but without the “r,” and draw the “u” out as long as possible.) That meant, “Please put more butter on my biscuit so I can lick it off again.” Needless to say, he only got a little dab of butter at a time.
Marriages have special codes too. “Are you wearing that?” could mean a lot of different things, depending upon the marriage. In some it means, “I don’t like that outfit.” In ours it means, “Oh, so I guess I can’t wear my blue jeans, huh?” Relationships may be about communication, but that does not mean they are about hearing; they are about knowing what the words you hear mean. Sometimes people decide they mean what they want them to mean instead of what they really do mean, and that can lead to all sorts of problems.
Jesus is a specialist in decoding our words. “He who searches the reins and the hearts” (Rev 2:23) can figure it out, no matter how awkwardly we phrase things. We don’t have to worry about being eloquent in our prayers, about saying something that might be misunderstood or taken the wrong way. People may do that, but our Lord never will. He partook of humanity so he would understand the stresses we undergo and the turmoil they create in our minds. He knows that things sometimes come out wrong, not because we are selfish or mean, but because we are anxious and distressed. Isn’t that when we find ourselves talking to Him the most?
Make a relationship with Him that will calm your worries. Know that He is listening to your heart, not the inept words you sometimes utter. Don’t worry about eloquence, just talk. Let your prayers be a comfort to you today, not another source of worry. That’s how a real relationship works.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who justifies, who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us…For there is one God, one mediator between God and man, himself man, Christ Jesus, Rom 8:33,34; 1 Tim 2:5.
Dene Ward
Mothers can decode better than anyone. When Lucas was eleven months old, he had already been walking five or six weeks. He often padded to the refrigerator, hung on to the door, and said, “Dee.” That meant, “I want a drink, please.” Nathan, at thirteen months, would hold out his biscuit half and say, “Buuuuh.” (Pronounce that like the word “burr” but without the “r,” and draw the “u” out as long as possible.) That meant, “Please put more butter on my biscuit so I can lick it off again.” Needless to say, he only got a little dab of butter at a time.
Marriages have special codes too. “Are you wearing that?” could mean a lot of different things, depending upon the marriage. In some it means, “I don’t like that outfit.” In ours it means, “Oh, so I guess I can’t wear my blue jeans, huh?” Relationships may be about communication, but that does not mean they are about hearing; they are about knowing what the words you hear mean. Sometimes people decide they mean what they want them to mean instead of what they really do mean, and that can lead to all sorts of problems.
Jesus is a specialist in decoding our words. “He who searches the reins and the hearts” (Rev 2:23) can figure it out, no matter how awkwardly we phrase things. We don’t have to worry about being eloquent in our prayers, about saying something that might be misunderstood or taken the wrong way. People may do that, but our Lord never will. He partook of humanity so he would understand the stresses we undergo and the turmoil they create in our minds. He knows that things sometimes come out wrong, not because we are selfish or mean, but because we are anxious and distressed. Isn’t that when we find ourselves talking to Him the most?
Make a relationship with Him that will calm your worries. Know that He is listening to your heart, not the inept words you sometimes utter. Don’t worry about eloquence, just talk. Let your prayers be a comfort to you today, not another source of worry. That’s how a real relationship works.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who justifies, who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us…For there is one God, one mediator between God and man, himself man, Christ Jesus, Rom 8:33,34; 1 Tim 2:5.
Dene Ward
RSS Feed