As a father of three, I can pronounce my affection for children. I may not be able to claim expertise in parenting, but I can certainly claim experience. My lovely wife and I have countless stories that symbolize the joys and struggles of parenting. One thing we have noticed is that the older a child gets, the more independent that child becomes. As parents, we yearn more and more for the days of dependence. As children, we yearn for the days of independence. There is a happy medium, though.

After eight solid years of buying diapers, Mandy and I were happy to be done with that expensive habit. Diapers, of course, are not optional. (I guess they may be optional, but that’s messy.) They were needed for a time; then independence crept in and they were no longer needed.

A similar analogy can be drawn with food. A child begins life by being fed constantly. Children eventually learn to feed themselves with the food they are provided with. Then they learn to find their own food in the cabinet and eat. Someday (hopefully) they will learn to buy their own food with their own money.

Psalm 131 — 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. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

David writes a short, beautiful prayer. I love the symbolism of contentment and confidence by using the weaned child analogy. The beauty is in our relationship with God. A child who is not weaned is fussy when hungry. Hunger is a disturbance that easily creeps in. A weaned child, though, is more confident and content. Time spent with the parent is more relaxed. It becomes a relationship of enjoyment, not just a relationship of necessity.

What is your relationship with God like? Are you fussy and demanding? Or is your relationship one of contentment? It is true that children will always have needs. Thankfully, though, the relationship moves into increasing enjoyment. Do you enjoy God?

David provides a key answer to this relationship he talks about. He is admitting his utter dependence on God. The idea that we must become independent to become happy or content is flawed. As an adult, I appreciate my parents now more than ever. I still appreciate them and depend on them even in the midst of my independence.

David shows his threefold efforts to avoid pride. He avoids pride in his heart, in his eyes, and in his actions. Humility is key in our relationship with God. We must admit complete dependence on God. Only then do we realize the comfort of a weaned child.

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This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 7:27 am and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.