Two Kinds Of Slippery

I had a lovely morning with a young mom and her three children.
She has a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.
Her baby is almost six months old.
I made sure to ask their ages because I wanted to get out the right toys for them.

A doll house for the three-year-old would be appropriate.
A garage with accessories for the five-year-old seemed right.
The toy chest was open so that they could take anything from there as well.
It was not until I talked to the five-year-old boy did I discover that he loved Legos.

I got out the tub of Legos with all the little pieces.
He was thrilled.
He asked if he could dump them all out on the rug since a figure was missing legs.
Of course, I said, I know you will be able to find the missing piece.

With excitement, he dumped the tub of Legos on the rug.
It is too hard to play with Legos when they are contained in a tub.
The fun is running your hands over all the pieces to find just the one you need.
He was enthralled for quite some time.

The children came into the kitchen to eat what their mom and I were eating.
They thought it was great fun to sit up on the high chairs that are at the island.
Of course, a drink has to go along with what they were eating.
They had their choice of quite a few things.

Apple juice was agreed upon.
I knew just the cabinet where the fun cups were kept.
I pulled out Woody and Buzz Lightyear and let them decide.
Would you like a straw that bends? I asked them.

Yes, please, they both said as if I offered them the best thing in the world.
Their mom teased, They will be your friends for life.
I sure hope so.
It doesn’t take much to please a child.

Children want to know they are special.
Children want to know that what they have to say is important enough to be heard.
Children want to have an open space in which they can talk about anything and everything.
Children enjoy when adults enter their world a bit.

I could not read their minds but I could read their faces.
Mrs. Gallagher has toys!
Mrs. Gallagher has fun cups for apple juice; Mrs. Gallagher has straws that bend.
Mrs. Gallagher has not forgotten.

The children asked if they could play on the playground.
It is a swing set my husband built for our children.
There are swings and a house that even has a steering wheel.
You can climb down from the house but the using the slide is more fun.

Of course you can play on the swings, but I think they are a little dirty, I admitted.
I knew that there were some leaves on the swings.
I knew that there were definitely some leaves on the slide.
I also knew that they would not mind a little dirt; no child would.

They were outside and their mother and I talked in the kitchen.
The baby was asleep in her arms.
They came back inside and sat down as their baby sister nursed.
You know what I used to do when my children wanted to play on the slide? I asked them.

The five-year-old boy seemed intrigued.
I used to give them a piece of wax paper, I told them.
They would take the wax paper and rub it all over the slide, I continued.
It would make the slide a little slippery, I said.

Can we do it now? The five-year-old asked me.
You sure can, I said walking into the kitchen.
I ripped off a piece of wax paper for each of the children.
They ran back outside to go to work.

Wax paper really does make the slide a bit slippery.
It is not dangerously slippery.
It is just the right kind of slippery.
Something so simple, can be so much fun.

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.  Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord you will despise them as fantasies. When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. (Psalm 73)

People who never consider God and turn their back on Him are on slippery ground.
Those who seek to follow God may get a bit discouraged.
It may seem as if the people who are indifferent to God have a perfect life.
It may seem as if they do not have any troubles or problems.

Until those who follow Him realize that God is always with them.
Until they enter the sanctuary of God.
Then they see the slippery ground the wicked are really on.
Then they see that unless those people turn to God they will be ruined.

Wax paper made the slide a fun kind of slippery.
However, those who turn their backs on God, want no part of Him.
The slippery ground they stand on is not the fun kind of slippery.
The slippery ground they stand on leads to death unless they turn to Him in faith.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Nothing slippery about that.
It is solid ground on which we can firmly stand.