A Weaned Child

Zero to sixty in 1.4 seconds! This passage came to mind today...

My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. ...Put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. -Psalm 131 This came to mind in contrast with Chloe's typical feeding behavior, especially in the last few days. Another translation represents the last line of verse 2 as, "like a weaned child I am content." So far from that is Chloe! Her hunger cues aren't too demanding until she's in position. Then, it seems, she suddenly realizes that it's time to eat, and she's hungry, she's hungry, she's HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY!!!!!!!! And she always has been, she always will be, and she is starving nigh unto death!!! When the blessed breast, the Giver of Milk, does appear, she approaches it with such desperation that she nearly misses her meal - fists flying, she hits herself in the face and more often than not ends up latching onto a fist, only spit it out screaming when it refuses to provide her with the much-desired milk. At not-quite-three-weeks of age, she has yet to learn to trust us. Of course we'll feed her; always. But she doesn't know this yet - and that's okay. She has plenty of time to learn. Will the same type of frantic desperation still be okay in six months, or a year? Well, no; in fact, it may be a cause for concern. Not because we're any less willing to feed her, but because by that time she can be reasonably expected to know that she can trust us to feed her and to calm herself accordingly (not to say that we won't get a tantrum if a meal is too slow in coming, but that I don't expect the immediate panic I see now). The psalmist, too, has learned to calm himself and rest in the belief that God is trustworthy. Rather than trying to control things beyond his control, rather than worrying about events that surround him or agonizing over personal fears and ambitions, he has calmed and quieted himself. Not without reason: he has chosen God's ambitions over his own, trusting God to provide and direct as God sees fit. He no longer comes frantically to God with his pressing and passing concerns, shouting in desperation and fear that he won't be heard. He's learned that the fearful desperation accompanying Chloe's cries for "MILK MILK MILK MILK MILK!" causes him to dive into his own fists and miss the meal that God has prepared. This season of Lent, I'd like to focus more on stilling myself before God. While I don't think I approach him with the frantic desperation I see in Chloe when she's looking for a meal, I also don't have the stillness of spirit that the psalmist describes here. I'll try to keep you posted with any progress. :)