Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. Psalm 8:2
The other day I took my 6-year-old son to the mall for “one-on-one” Mom-Son time. We saw a short 3-D movie, “T-REX”, the one where the dinosaur drools right in your lap as he eyes you for a potential lunch item. After the movie we ate lunch (30 restaurants to choose from and he goes for Burger King – AGAIN!) and talked a while, then we decided to do a sightseeing lap around the mall.
About 2 months ago I started working Saturday mornings, the day I usually spend with the boys. We always went for breakfast (all you could eat buffets!) and then went to the park or ran errands around the valley. When my schedule changed I went to the boy’s school and asked the principal about taking each boy out on rotating Fridays. She gave me her approval as well as her blessing; Mom-Son Friday came to pass.
Every Friday at noon I pick one of the boys up. We talk, eat and watch a movie (of the boy’s choice); not necessarily in that order. By 4:00 PM we’re on the way back to pick-up the other two and head home. This particular day was Jon’s day.
As Jon and I walked around he chose the shops he wanted to tour through. Being 6 he chose only the brightest and most colorful shops. No clothing – mostly shops with toys, hanging objects, shelf decorations and rocks. One of the shops we went into seemed innocent from the front. There were rock slab wind-chimes, polished stone necklaces, cut stone book-ends, and similar items throughout. Jon was mesmerized by the color and shine.
As we neared the back of the store we saw voodoo and witch-doctor paraphernalia on the floor and walls. I tried to steer Jon clear of the items, but he nearly ran into a chair with a demon head carved into the seat back.
Jon stopped immediately, put his little fists on his hips (as only a 6 year old can do) and stated quite clearly, “Well, these people don’t know Jesus.” After which he quickly dismissed himself from the store.
Trying to help lift his spirits, I started searching for signs of Jesus in every store we entered. Finally, as we reached the end of the mall, I spotted a shelf with porcelain figurines of Jesus, Mary, the nativity, the crucifix and various other Christian themes.
“There, Jon,” I said. “There’s Jesus.”
For a moment a smile formed on his face, which was quickly dismissed and replaced by round determined eyes and firmly set fists.
“Well,” he said. “I just want to know why Jesus is there – and women with no clothes are right there!” I followed his small pointing finger to the shelf immediately below. There on the shelf were porcelain nudes, three times the size of the Christian figurines.
“I’m just going to go get Joseph (our youth pastor) and we’re going to come back here and pray.” At that point he took is offended little self out of the store and decided that he had seen enough of the mall.
So there I was, at 49, looking so hard to find Jesus that I allowed myself to overlook the offense, the insult, of placing Him among the very decadence He came to this world to overcome. In that very store were dragons and Buddas, crystals and prayer beads, nudes and seductive paintings. How many times do I close my eyes to the things that offend me? How many times have I felt it was the way of the world and there was nothing I could do?
Out of the mouth of a babe came the words that had been spoken into him. At 6 years old he was ready to take a stand against the things he knew were wrong, and he was ready to find someone to stand with him in prayer.
Thank you, Jesus, for babies who remind us how to be the best we can be.
By Linda J. Humes
Written 2-24-1999
Tags: Child, Evil, Jesus, Prayer, Psalm, Righteousness
Linda J. Humes 