Aug
13
2019
At The Water’s Edge
Posted in Bible 3 Comments
This year we had two granddaughters at the beach.
The year before, there was only one.
As God allows, each year is full of possibilities.
My husband and I welcome as many grandbabies as God sends to our family.
This year our oldest granddaughter was 14 months old at the beach.
We were excited to see her reaction when she saw the ocean.
It could go either way, someone had said.
There is no way to know how a toddler will react to something beforehand.
Something as vast as the ocean can be exciting or frightening.
We were so curious to see how she would respond.
My husband and son-in-love went down to the beach quite early to set up our tents.
Chairs were placed in the shade, waiting for the comings and goings of our family.
I arrived at the beach after our granddaughter had first seen the ocean.
She’s not so sure about it, Mom, my daughter said.
Our granddaughter was safe under the tent in her little chair.
She was content, eating her snack.
My daughter and her husband had a wonderful idea.
They bought a small kiddie pool, which they inflated at the beach.
They put water from the ocean in the pool.
Our granddaughter loved sitting in the pool, playing with her beach toys.
We all wanted her to love the ocean.
We all hoped that she would not be afraid.
I know my daughter read books to her about the ocean before coming to the beach.
It is one thing to see something in a book and quite another to see it in person.
My oldest daughter sat with her niece in the little pool.
At some point, she carried her towards the ocean.
She stood at the water’s edge.
I watched my granddaughter hold tightly around her aunt’s neck.
The next day, my oldest daughter brought a low beach chair close to the water’s edge.
Our granddaughter was sitting on her lap.
I watched my daughter talking sweetly to her niece.
I watched her wave and my granddaughter waved along with her.
She walked back towards our tents, holding her hand as her niece toddled along.
We waved to the ocean, she told her sister.
Did you wave to the ocean with Aunt E? Her mommy asked her.
Our little granddaughter turned back towards the ocean and waved again.
Each day, my oldest daughter took our little granddaughter closer and closer to the ocean.
What had been so vast and so frightening was now close at hand.
What had been something she stayed away from became something she waved to in excitement.
It was happening: less fear, more faith; no tears, more smiles.
Aunt E quietly and intentionally introduced the ocean to her niece.
I watched them at the water’s edge.
I watched the ocean come ever so close.
I saw no sign of fear in my granddaughter.
It mattered that Aunt E took the time to gradually introduce something that was so frightening.
It mattered that our little granddaughter’s fears were acknowledged.
It mattered that no one expected any more from her than her little mind could comprehend.
It mattered greatly.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8:26-35)
The Holy Spirit led Philip to a chariot in which a man was reading from the prophet Isaiah.
Philip knew what the man was reading because all Scripture was read aloud then.
The man did not understand the passage; he had no idea to whom the passage referred.
Philip did not get annoyed or frustrated, rather he began right there and explained Jesus to him.
It is important to start right where someone is in their faith journey.
Take them to the water’s edge.
Sit with them a while.
Watch, while the Living Water splashes at their feet.
They may be reluctant.
They may be afraid.
Grab a chair and sit with them.
Be patient; you were once at the beginning of your faith journey as well.
The Bible is something they may never have encountered before.
It is vast and unknown to them.
They need a guide.
They need someone who will acknowledge where they are and help them move on from there.
It takes time.
It takes patience.
It takes understanding.
It takes prayer.
It is so worth it.
By the end of the week, our granddaughter was walking into the ocean with her Aunt by her side.
She waved at the water as it came towards her.
She was smiling.
So sweet!
So sweet! You have such a wonderful family! Was it hard to get everyone together at the same time?
Sue,
We plan this beach week far in advance.
Everyone enjoys being together for the week.
It is a blessing that I do not take for granted.
Gina