Category: Christian Allegory

Infrequent Watering

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

I stepped into the kitchen. Time to make supper.

My eyes roamed the room as I pondered what to make for our evening meal.

The plants on top of the cupboards caught my attention.

I frowned. 

My spider plant was looking pale green and wilty. My pothos was drooping. My Christmas cactus appeared to be handling the man-made drought reasonably well, but it wasn’t thriving.

I needed to water them. It had been far too long.

The problem was, they were up high, beyond my reach, unless I climbed on a kitchen chair.

I heard the pitter patter of little feet behind me.

My 2 year old entered the kitchen. The very 2 year old who had pushed a chair to the kitchen counter to pull a bowl out of the cupboard all by himself the other day…

I glanced at the top shelf plants with a sigh. They’d have to wait until later. I wasn’t foolish enough to set an example of climbing on a kitchen chair to reach something even higher in front of my son. Who knew what mischief he would get into, bolstered by my example?

I would have to remember to water them later, once the kids were in bed.

Setting my concern about my plants aside, I turned to my son with a cheery smile.

“Let’s find something for you to do at the table while I make supper.”

Why do I bring up this scene? Because it has an important reminder for me, and perhaps you will find it valuable as well.

When I picture my walk with God as a plant, I am reminded that I need to be intentional to water my plant.

If my walk with Jesus isn’t receiving enough water, it won’t thrive. It will wilt.

True, water isn’t the only factor needed to make plants thrive. They need the right amount of sunlight, good soil, and nutrients.

Perhaps having my heart in the right place – humble and trusting God – can be represented by the sunlight a plant needs. Without sunlight, no amount of watering will make a plant grow. Likewise, without my heart in the right place my walk with Jesus will not function.

That said, a plant will not grow and thrive without regular watering no matter how perfect the other factors are.

The plants on my top shelf show this clearly.

Indeed, it is especially evident when you consider my spider plant.

My sister gave me my spider plant from her larger plant. At the same time, she gave a spider plant of the same age to my mom.

My mom’s spider plant has been well watered. It has been strategically placed to receive the right type of light.

In contrast, my poor spider plant is up on a high shelf so the kids don’t get it, and it has certainly been under watered.

My mom’s spider plant is thriving. It is lush green, much bigger than mine, and beginning to reproduce.

My plant is smaller, often pale, and nowhere near ready to reproduce.

As with these spider plants, I must be watering my walk with Jesus if I want it to grow and thrive.

So how do I water my relationship with Jesus? Bible reading, Bible teaching, prayer, singing praise, and fellowship.

I need to be intentional to make it a regular practice to read or listen to the Bible for myself.

Finding Biblically sound Bible teaching pastors to listen to or read books by is also incredibly valuable. (One of my favorites is Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel.)

Spending time in prayer – conversation with God – is vital. Someone once equated prayer to breathing in order to convey just how essential it is to spiritual life.

There are many ways to pray. Praying by oneself or praying with others. Praying for practical needs, praying for spiritual growth, and prayers of praise for who God is. Taking time for each of these can refresh and strengthen my walk with God. 

Singing worship songs (even more than just listening to them) helps turn my focus back to Jesus.

Fellowship is time spent with other Christians. Encouraging and being encouraged by each other – serving and being served. Discussing the things of God.

Regular attendance at a Bible teaching church covers most of these elements, but once a week is not enough.

I am not a cactus that only needs occasional watering.

I need to be watering my walk with Jesus daily, even better if hourly.

This can looked very different in different seasons of life. Making regular habits can help me consistently add water to my walk with Jesus.

Some possibilities include reading my Bible first thing, or listening to a 5 minute devotional (like this podcast by David Guzik).

I can build in regular times of prayer for my family, missionaries, and prayers of thanksgiving. On top of that, I can find a couple of friends to meet with regularly to pray for our church, community, and country.

Today, may I seek out one more way to add water to my walk with Jesus and begin to make that a regular habit.

 

What are some of your regular habits that water your walk with Jesus? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Illuminated Trees

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

With a sigh, I sank into the rocking chair in the quiet room.

What a busy day. The older kids were finally in bed and nearly asleep now.

Alone for the first time all day, I let my eyes scan the scene out my window. The sky behind the house tops and trees carried the deep blue of a recent rainstorm.

My gaze shifted to the room around me as I turned to prayer for discernment regarding an allegory to write next.

When I turned back to the window, the trees caught my attention. They glowed!

The sinking sun behind my house shone brilliantly on the trees, making them stand out vividly against the dark sky.

Just like that, I had an allegory to write. (This one that you are reading now.)

Those trees, so ordinary to me because I saw them every day, stood out now in unmistakable beauty.

I noticed one of the many chimneys visible from my window glowing in stunning sharpness. The rest of the chimneys remained their typical grey and steel.

I pulled out my phone to record these thoughts.

When I paused to look out the window again, lower clouds had drifted into view. They were illuminated against the dark clouds.

An airplane flew by, gleaming in the sunshine.

What a lovely scene.

A few minutes later, the trees faded into typical shades, boring compared to what they had just been. Yet the sky behind them shone cheery pink in the setting sun’s rays.

So what is the allegory, you may be wondering.

To me, this scene of stunning contrast is a picture of how God so often speaks through the Bible.

As someone who has read the entire Bible many times, no passage is brand new to me.

Just like the trees outside my window, the Bible stories, at first glance, are normal.

I should mention that, on the average day, it is not uncommon for my husband and I to comment to each other how pleasant the scene outside our window is with trees and sky, chimneys and airplanes. That said, it is very routine for me to see this scene.

Likewise, reading God’s Word is precious and wonderful, an incredible privilege. Yet I have read it before. It isn’t shiny new.

This evening, however, looking out the window, those trees looked new. They stood out stunningly in the brilliant light of the evening sun.

So often, this is how God speaks through His Word, the Bible. He shines His “Son-shine,” if you will, on a passage making it jump from the page in a way I’ve never noticed before.

The passage comes alive.

If I never took the time to look out the window, and left the blinds closed, I would not see the illuminated trees.

If I never took the time to read the Bible, but left it closed on the shelf, I would miss what God wants to say to me through it.

If I only ever approached the window as a to-do task – to clean the window pane and wipe the dust from the sill – I would very possibly miss seeing the beautiful scene outside.

If I only ever read the Bible to check it off my to-do list, I may or may not notice what God is wanting to say to me.

Indeed there are many days when my Bible reading feels like no more than a task to get done. (This is far better than not opening it at all.)

But what if today, I remember to pause as I go to open my Bible, to ask God to tune my heart to His by teaching me something as I read the Bible.

It may not be fireworks or lightning, but far more often than not, if I slow down, turning my attention towards God as I open the Bible, He has something to teach me.

Oftentimes it is a gentle reminder, or sometimes a new depth of understanding. Occasionally it is a vivid instruction.

Yet how would I hear and learn unless I opened the Bible and began to read?

Likewise, how would I have seen the brilliant trees outside my window, if I had left the curtains closed?

“Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105 CSB

Today, may I make time to seek God through reading the Bible. He will meet me there.

If you are new to reading the Bible, I highly recommend starting with the book of John.

 

If you are looking for a Bible reading plan, or simply a way to record which chapters you’ve read, I encourage you to print out a copy of my DIY Bible Reading Plan. It’s free for my subscribers. (Already subscribed? Click the Free Downloads link in your email and then scroll down until you find the Bible reading plan).

Heel Pricks

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

The nurse stepped into our room.

“How’s baby doing?”

I glanced up. “He’s starting to stir. Likely he’ll be hungry soon.“

She took a moment to study our newborn as he lay swaddled in the bassinet.

Next, she turned to the monitor screen showing his heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation.

She checked his IV line. It was still running smoothly.

She turned to us then. “The doctor has ordered some blood work. I’ll have to prick his heel to get 25-30 drops of blood so they can check to see how he’s doing. Are you okay if I go ahead with that?”

My husband and I glanced at each other and nodded. “Yes, go ahead.”

The nurse put a little heat pack on our son’s heel and got to work preparing what was needed.

A minute or two later, she turned back to our newborn.

She took the heat pack off and examined his heel. He already had a few scabs from previous pricks, but she found a new spot.

He was awake now and starting to look for food.

When the nurse pricked his heel, his little face scrunched up and turned red. He began to cry.

The nurse squeezed his heel to get one drop of blood out of his foot and then another. She skillfully collected the sample into a little tube.

I pressed a soother into my newborn’s mouth, but to little avail.

“It’s okay,” I told him. “It’ll help them get you feeling better.”

But he didn’t understand.

He continued to cry – a heart-wrenching newborn cry.

The nurse continued her work.

Finally the nurse had collected enough blood to be able to send it for testing. 

Dodging cords from his monitors, we changed his little diaper, and I picked him up for nursing.

He calmed as soon as I began to nurse him.

We breathed a sigh of relief.

– – – –

Why would we allow someone to intentionally hurt our little guy who had no idea what was going on?

That wasn’t the only time we okayed something that hurt him either.

Even in the first 24 hours of his life outside the womb, my husband gave permission for nurses to do blood work.

Our little boy cried hard each time his heel was pricked. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew something hurt. 

Why would we, as loving parents, allow and even encourage someone to hurt our baby?

Because we knew it might help.

You see, when our little boy was born, he was having difficulty breathing. It was bad enough that they admitted him to the hospital NICU.

After a couple of days on a CPAP machine and oxygen, our son had improved some, but then began to show signs of infection, including in some of his bloodwork. When they put him on antibiotics, he quickly improved.

He had to remain in hospital until his antibiotics were completed because they were given by IV.

What a relief when we could take our baby home with us after a week in the NICU! He transitioned home so smoothly that you’d never know he had needed that extra care.

(A quick shout out to say thank you to the NICU team for their incredible care for the precious little ones in their unit. It was amazing to see the work they do.)

Why share all this? Because my husband pointed out a powerful allegory in the midst of it.

He, as a loving dad, allowed the nurses to prick our little boy and make him bleed. Why? Because he could see the big picture.

My son didn’t understand. All he knew was that something hurt. He couldn’t have even told me that it was his foot. He just knew that something hurt and he didn’t like it.

My newborn did the only thing he knew to do. He cried. 

Did I rebuke my son for crying? No. I almost felt like crying right alongside him. 

Instead, I sought to comfort him and, in a sense, to join him in his suffering.

In comparison to God, I am like my little newborn. 

I am small and helpless.

I do not understand the big picture.

I feel it if something hurts me – oh boy, do I feel it!

I typically have no idea that there might be a purpose behind the pain, nor of what that purpose might be.

God is good, and God is love. He is at work behind the scenes orchestrating everything for His glory and for the good of those who love Him. (Rom. 8:28)

When a heel prick comes in my life (indeed it is when, not if), how should I respond?

First, I find time to take my crying to God.

Just as I didn’t rebuke my newborn for crying, God welcomes me to tell Him how I’m feeling. He cares about me.

If I feel the need, I can even ask God, “Why?”

More likely than not, God will not tell me why on this side of heaven, but I can still ask. 

Then I move on to surrender the whole thing to Him, trusting that He is in control and knows what He is doing even if I don’t know why. 

I turn my eyes upon Jesus. I remind myself of who He is: all-mighty, all-knowing, good, loving, and interested in the details of my life.

While all that is good and deeply valuable, on a practical level, what should I do when my heel is pricked? When grief or unknowns make me stutter?

In the words of Elizabeth Elliott, I “do the next thing.”

I determine the next thing to do, whether that is make supper or pack a hospital bag, and I do it. Sometimes I have to be even more specific when finding the next thing to do: peel the onion… Put a phone charger in the hospital bag… Once that’s done, I can do the next thing.

“Wait for the Lord and keep His way…” (Psalm 37:34)

Next time I have my heel pricked, may I remember to take my emotions to God, to surrender and trust Him, to remind myself who God is, and to do the next thing.

“No, Me!”

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

As he finished helping our nearly 2 year old son get ready for bed, my husband glanced at me. “You can turn the light off now.”

“Okay,” I stepped into the hallway.

“No, me!” A little voice piped up.

I halted, my hand raised to flip the switch.

My son hurried after me, still saying, “No, me! No, me!”

“Okay, you can turn the light off, then go straight back to Daddy.”

Once he’d turned the light off, my son followed my instructions to go back to Daddy.

A couple of minutes later, with both kids in their beds, my husband and I settled down in their dimly lit room for the final steps of our bedtime routine.

I started us off on the hymn we’ve been enjoying recently.

“Jesus loves even me.”

“I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the Book He has given;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see,
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.”

“I am so glad that Jesus loves me, …” 

My son’s voice piped up, “No, me!”

We continued singing despite his insistent interruption.

“Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me.”

“No, me!”

“I am so glad that Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves even me.”

When we finished the song, I turned to my son. “You’re right that Jesus loves you. He loves Mommy and Daddy and your sister too.”

How much of this explanation he understood was hard to tell, but he calmed and waited for the next part of our bedtime routine.

Why do I bring this up? Because it got me thinking.

As someone who has sung songs about God’s love and care for years, do I still take them to heart?

Do I really believe that Jesus loves me?

When I sing “Jesus loves me,” do I pause to reflect that, yes, Jesus really does love me personally, not just generically?

Do I insert my name in place of “me”? Jesus loves S. J. Little?

Sometimes the words are so familiar that I forget to reflect on their meaning. I forget to marvel at the mystery that Jesus really does love me, right now, today, just as I am.

Now, let’s be clear, my son’s words were not all helpful.

It is not “no, me.” Rather, I ought to say, “and me,” or, as the hymn says, “even me.”

When I truly grasp that Jesus loves even me, my right response is to show someone else that Jesus loves even them.

Indeed, God’s love is for everyone. As John 3:16 puts it:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” NIV

That’s a lot of love!

Today, as I take a moment to reflect on the truth that Jesus loves even me, may I respond by seeking to share that immeasurable love with someone else, because Jesus loves them too.

 


Covered Over

Posted on by S. J. Little

 

“Mommy, I want to write a list.” My daughter announced as she placed a paper on the kitchen table.

“What sort of list?” I asked.

“A list for the babysitter.”

One of her favorite games recently has been “babysitter game,” where she pretends to babysit her dolls, her little brother, or sometimes, me. This game was largely inspired by the book “Amelia Bedelia and the Baby.”

“Okay. Do you want me to write it so you can copy the words?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” I fetched a small whiteboard and a dry-erase pen. “What do you want to say on your list?”

She paused to think.

“Take bath. Go for walk. Eat snack. Make supper.”

I recorded her words on the whiteboard. “There you go. Would you like a pencil to write the list with?”

I heard the beginnings of frustration coming from my 1 year old in the living room.

“No, I’ll use a marker.”

“Okay. Have fun.”

I headed for the living room, grateful that she would be busy for a few minutes while I helped my younger child.

Several minutes later, a cry of despair erupted from the kitchen.

By this time, my husband was busy in the kitchen where my daughter sat. I heard him ask if she needed help.

Through tears, she explained that she had mixed up the lines. Her list read, “Eat snack. Make snack.”

Because she’d written it in marker, there was no way to erase it. After all that hard work copying my writing, she’d have to start all over again. 

“I have an idea,” my husband replied calmly.

He fetched a new sheet of paper, scissors, and a glue stick.

After a quick measurement of the mistaken word, he cut the paper to size and glued it over my daughter’s mistake.

She brightened instantly. “Now I can try again!”

She carefully copied the word “supper” onto the paper.

Joyfully, she hurried to the living room to show me.

“Look, Mommy. I wrote the wrong thing, but Daddy gave me a second chance.”

“Excellent,” I enthused.

The next day, my daughter approached me. “Mommy, you write a list.”

I looked up from what I was doing. “What sort of list?”

“A babysitting list, but write one thing wrong,” she said.

“Why should I write something wrong?” I asked.

“Because I’m pretending to be the mommy and you are the kid. If you write something wrong I can give you a second chance.”

“I see. Like Daddy did yesterday?”

“Yes.” She had a twinkle in her eye.

Fetching a paper and a marker, I wrote a similar list to what she had made yesterday.

  1. Read book
  2. Bath
  3. Eat snack
  4. Nap

(If she was going to be the mommy and have me pretend to be the kid, I may as well add some extra reading practice for her and a chance for me to lie down.)

Instead of writing “Bath” I wrote “Book” again.

“Oh no. I wrote the wrong thing.” I showed her my paper. “It was supposed to say ‘Bath’ here.”

“That’s okay,” she bubbled over with excitement. “I can give you another chance.”

“Thank you,” I replied, then handed her the scissors and glue.

She cut out a piece of paper and glued it over my wrong word.

“There. Now you can fix it.”

I wrote “Bath” on top of the glued on paper.

“Thank you for giving me a second chance. That’s like what Daddy did for you yesterday.”

She nodded.

I then steered the conversation to Jesus.

When I do wrong things – when I sin – He covers over my sins and lets me try again.

He can do this because He died on the cross for me. He has already paid the price for the wrongdoing.

It’s not that there are no consequences for my sins – my daughter’s list still had the obvious patch on it – but God forgives the death penalty I deserve every time I sin against Him.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 CSB

He offers me a second chance.

My job is to confess my sins and ask for His forgiveness.

If my daughter had simply hidden her list with the mistake on it, my husband would not have had the opportunity to cover over her mistake. She also had to allow him to do the gluing on of the paper. She could have resisted that.

In the coming weeks, as I celebrate Easter, I want to pause to remember and thank God for His great mercy towards us.

Through His death, He has covered over my sins and given me a second chance.

He is worthy of my praise.