It was the summer of 2012. My daughter was six and was freshly out of school, where she had been taught by a number of teachers and played with a number of friends all year long. And now, it was just the two of us. On a budget. At home. Staring at one another.
She, wondering how I was going to entertain her all summer. Me, wondering the same. She, excited to see what I would do. Me, apprehensive and in prayer that some Mary Poppins character would appear and guide us both to playtime bliss.
I was quite delighted when inspiration hit. I could combine my love of reading with Kendall’s love of art. I could make a list of the best children’s books out there. We could request them from the library so we didn’t have to buy any. And then I could search Pinterest and Google for craft ideas to go along with each book.
Thus our Craft-Tastic Summer was born. And let me tell you, we had a blast! We both looked forward to story and craft time each day (three days a week). We read books about monsters, caterpillars, ladybugs, pirates, bears, bunnies, sheep, cows, pigeons, tugboats, and more.
We made monsters and finger-puppet theaters out of tissue boxes, ducks out of paper plates, pigeons out of painted handprints, farm animals out of toilet paper rolls, sheep out of clothes pins and white yarn, pom-pom-and-yarn spaghetti hats, paper-bag bats, and so much more.
It really provided that outlet we needed to be creative and learn and enjoy one another. I had wanted Kendall to realize how much we can do with what we already have at home, how quality time has little to do with a lot of new stuff.
In typical parenting fashion, I, too learned this. Little can be much. Simple can be extravagant. And paint – paint can get messy. Sharpies are, indeed, permanent. Google-y eyes are a must-have accessory for most any craft, and they actually make self-adhesive ones (quite the revelation!). An hour or two spent turning trash into treasure is time well spent.
Discovering something beautiful and meaningful in the ordinary can be an art, and I would wish for Kendall to be an amazing artist in this way all throughout her life. Because joy doesn’t come through acquiring more things, but in using what’s been placed inside of us by our all-knowing Creator. He is the Master Artist, the Master Author. He sculpts us, writes our stories – from nothing to something.
Speaking of stories, I was reading Gideon’s story in Judges 6 this morning. The Israelites are in the Promised Land, but they are now in that awful cycle of falling into idolatry, becoming enslaved by one ruler or another, and then crying out to God for help. God, in His faithfulness, keeps raising up judges for them, though once they are delivered, Israel falls right back into idolatry and oppression once again.
This particular time, things are so bad that we read: Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites (v. 11). Now, I buy my food from the grocery store. You won’t find me threshing my own wheat. So this detail doesn’t mean much to me personally. However, to those who know how it’s all supposed to be done, this is a big deal. Wheat, from what little I know about it, is typically threshed on an open floor.
It’s not really supposed to be done in the winepress. As you can tell by its name, the winepress is really a place to press wine. It’s an enclosed area where juice is expressed from grapes. So why, then, is Gideon threshing wheat (usually done in an open area) in a winepress (a vat, or enclosed space)?
Because the Midianites, their oppressors in this particular incident, are just taking everything they can find for themselves. They devour the produce of the land (v. 4). So Gideon is threshing wheat in the winepress out of desperation, really. He’s just so afraid that the Midianites will come and take even that little bit.
So this is what Gideon is doing when the angel of the Lord appears to him. And the angel of the Lord greets Gideon with this line: “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor” (v. 12).
Now, Gideon doesn’t see this in himself. Threshing his wheat in secret out of fear of the Midianites seems to be evidence that he is not, in fact, a mighty man of valor. We wouldn’t really expect God to say this to him. I assume he wouldn’t have expected God to see him in this way either. A mighty man of valor doesn’t really hide away when danger comes, does he?
But God sees this in Gideon. He sees what others don’t, what Gideon himself doesn’t. And He wants Gideon to know that is what he is, a mighty man of valor. They have a moment together, of Gideon asking what any one of us would have asked: “If you are with us, why are all of these bad things happening to us?”
The angel of the Lord responds: “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (v. 14).
I find it fascinating that God gets straight to the point and tells Gideon to go and do something about this problem. And also, God tells him to go in this might of yours. Yes, Gideon’s strength for this task will come from God. Gideon is only a mighty man of valor because God is with him (v. 16). However, God is putting this responsibility on Gideon: Go in this might of yours.
As we read on in chapter 6, we see that God takes Gideon on a journey to discover this might of his. He takes him step by step. Gideon needs a lot of convincing. He tests God again and again: “If you will actually do this . . . . If you will truly save Israel through me, give me a sign.”
And God is very patient. He keeps giving Gideon these signs, these confirmations that God is, in fact, with Gideon, that the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon (v. 34).
This reminded me of our Craft-Tastic Summer of 2012 because we were on a budget. We were trying not to spend extra money on entertainment, such as amusement parks, shopping, movies, pool memberships, and all of the fun activities offered for kids in our area that cost money. We were challenged to see what we already had at home.
We had to look at what was available to us, what was already there. And although we only read books and made crafts (and great memories), we learned that our God is a creative God, and He has given us minds that feed off of learning and reading and making things. He has given us hearts that connect with the hearts of others as we spend time getting to know each other (and ourselves). He has given us so much that we already have inside of us.
I am encouraged that, whether we are caring for children or going to work every day to provide for our families or gathering an army to fight off physical oppression like Gideon, when we are called by God to fulfill these roles, when He is with us, it makes all the difference. We are mighty men and women of valor because His might works so mightily in each of us.
I love these words from Paul: I have become a servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me (Colossians 1:25-29).
Recent Comments