*OUR OWN LITTLE WORLDS
On this planet earth many of us are living within our own little worlds—wombs that we think are protecting us from the rest of the world. In essence we have imprisoned ourselves.
Before birth a baby is cradled, fed, and cared for naturally. From the womb of the mother he exits to find himself in unknown territory, unprepared to deal with ‘life.’ This helpless bundle of blood, tissue and cells must depend on someone to show him how to survive on the outside.
Does he wonder where he is, where he came from, or how he got here? No; his only thought is, “I need…” communicated by-way-of his natural mechanism.
But look: Mommy cannot respond to his needs—he sees her in a fetal position, surrounded by a crystal-like ball. He is trying to tell her that he needs to be held, to feel the closeness they had while he was in the mother’s womb, to know that this world is a safe place for him to be.
She cannot break through; she has closed herself in. Because of her own fears she is unable to convince her child that he can be secure, that his vital needs will always be met.
Soon he metamophorically forms his own outer shell and becomes one of the millions of bubbles floating around the universe, passing time and people without understanding the meaning of his existence.
(The mother is always the closest to the new-born — except for dire circumstances. Her relationship is crucial to her baby. She is the first to nurture, to feed, to hold. This bond between mother and child is the most important. The person who carries him in her womb for nine months should be free for a period of time to love this baby and to meet its needs. [I am not sure that I agree completely with Dr. William Sears, but in his book, Parenting Your Baby, he says that a new mother should plan to live in her nightgown for two weeks, nursing, holding, grooming, rocking and “securing” her new-born. For the first year the new baby needs to know that he lives in a safe environment.] The father’s role is to support and nurture this mother-baby relationship. As a result he will be seen as a gentle, but strong, human being and will take his rightful place as head of his household. It is this family relationship that is the example for the future relationship this child will have with God, his heavenly Father, and His family.)
Families that have good parenting skills are rare. We face the two most important lift-time decisions—marriage and parenting— without proper training. We make our decisions based on feelings, from what we know, what we want, and what we see others doing.
Experience has shown that parents who were loved and ‘secured’ are able to love their children. If you have been nurtured, you have been trained to nurture. These are the people whose feet are on the ground—anchored to a purpose and a meaning for life—who see and respond to the needs of others. These are the people who are trying to burst the bubbles of those whose cries were never heard.
How do these people convince others that they are loved and have a purpose for living? —- to be continued)
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This above article was written in the 1980s during my times of conflict, doubt, and anxiety—the natural way I had learned to live.
The mother in this story is me at a time in my life when things seemed hopeless—a mother who could not help herself, not knowing where to turn, and not able to help anyone else. My own little world was all I knew. This little world is a dark world which leaves no room for anyone but self.
Darkness is not a pleasant state in which to be. But then God began to shine the light into my heart. There was a calling to something from Someone I did not yet know. My drawing was first to The Word of God which is contained in The Holy Bible. Here I began to read and to love what I was learning, which eventually led me to Jesus Christ, who is revealed in His Word. Then I began to love God, the Father, and God, the Son, that Someone whose light was strong enough to penetrate my darkness and bring me into His light.
Not only did the light become brighter and brighter, but I could also look back and see the darkness He had brought me through. Still not knowing the meaning of life, nor my purpose, there was evidence that our heavenly Father had been with me all my life, protecting and guiding in a way that I did not fully understand.
During the four and a half years of caring for Mother in her last stages of dementia, and the first year in caring for Jerry after two surgeries on his left leg—the second one an amputation below the knee— the bubble formed again and my own little world seemed to be all I could handle.
Again, God, our heavenly Father, by the power of His own light, penetrated my “little world”—the sharpness and piercing of the two-edged sword is like a laser. (Hebrews 4:12) He continues to permeate my whole being, and perpetuate the light of His grace in my heart and through my life. He works in each of us, by His own power, to see the needs of others, to care, intercede, and touch the lives of those for whom we pray—for His glory and our joy.
“The path of the just is as a shining light, shining more and more unto the perfect day.”
Proverbs 5:18
*(Introduction to God’s Glory and Our Joy, The Ministry of Intercession)
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At different times in this life, we tend to forget things ~ a person’s name, an event, directions, etc. The human mind is not always under our own control. As we age, time can take its toll on our memory.
It was mid-2006. Mother had continued to decline in the four years she lived with us. Her physical condition was adding its toll to her dementia. We had done all we could since my dad died of cancer several years before. While caring for her, we kept two of our granddaughters two days a week ~ a joy and a respite for us and Mother.
God's Grace ~ God's Glory! 