After reading roughly two hundred and fifty-six kids books to my girls, I'd become a little desensitized to the story of David and Goliath. It's immortalized in Veggie Tales, in board books, in Sunday School materials for wee ones, and on and on until it's almost become dry and boring to me. “Yeah, yeah, I know how this story goes. God takes a young kid and strengthens him enough so that he can slay a tall giant. Dang, I wish He'd do that for ME, so I could just tackle this tax form...” Inevitably, my lack of skills with numbers begins to show on line 37 or 38, and off to H&R Block I go.

This time, though, I'd actually been reading through the book of 1 Samuel, thanks to this new Bible reading planner I'd gotten from Motivated Moms. (It has a daily checklist of all the chores I need to do in a day, plus a Bible-in-a-Year plan, and it was only eight bucks! I couldn't whip out my debit card fast enough.) When I came to “David and Goliath,” I almost committed the Great Older-Christian Sin, and thought, “I've read this story before; I don't need to read it again.” But I really really wanted to have that box checked off for today, so I read it anyway.

Then I came to the part where David tells Saul of his plans:

32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."

34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

Whoaaaaaaaaa! This wasn't the story of God giving some wimpy little kid supernatural strength to fight a big bad warrior—this is the story of God using someone who was (get this) uniquely qualified for this mission, after years of obscure preparation in the workplace and the home!

Think about it for a minute. What skills did David need in facing Goliath?

--He needed to be able to stand firm in the face of something much, much bigger than him, and not run away. Despite the soldier's training that the other men in Saul's army had, I doubt any of them had come toe-to-toe with a bear or a lion and won. The soldiers didn't go, “Oh, I've been fighting with a sword for years, and I'll just use that training on the big bad boogey man over there.” No, they ran and hid, because the dude was nine feet tall. David, on the other hand, showed such determination and grit, because he was used to fighting things so much bigger than he was.

--He needed to be able to control his fear. Long before meeting Goliath, David had been trained in moving towards the bear or the lion, no matter how he felt. When Goliath came along, those feelings were already tamped down, under control, and had no chance to spill over and ruin David's opportunity.

--He needed to trust that God would truly deliver him. David was young, and much smaller than Goliath, but he had seen God deliver him from ferocious beasts before. That deep trust in God had been developed over years, with no one but the sheep as an audience.

The truth is that David had every reason to fight Goliath. He was the one person in Israel who was uniquely prepared to do so. Maybe a different shepherd could have done the job just as well as David, but said, “Oh, I'm in obscurity right now, no one will see me fight this lion, and the only price I'd have to pay to get out of fighting it is one little dead lamb. The lion can have her. I'm not risking my life for that.”

But God wasn't just preparing a warrior, he was preparing a king. How did David's time at the shepherd's field prepare him for that station in life?

-He was described as “a man after God's own heart.” Perhaps he used the long boring days of watching sheep eat grass to pray.

-He was a wonderful artist and songwriter. Perhaps he took his harp with him on those two or three-day journeys to better grazing pasture, and practiced where no one but sheep could hear his mistakes.

-He was a good and just king. Perhaps picking burrs and ticks out of sheep's wool prepared him for tending the flock of Israel patiently. Perhaps he learned how to prepare for long journeys, manage his time, sleep under stars, and be uncomfortable for the sake of his flock. 

As women, as mothers, as daughters, as sisters, we do a lot of work in obscurity. We clean noses, we cook food, we work till we're exhausted, and we do it with no one's eyes on us, and get very little reward. However, God sees our trials, and God sees when we rise above and do our tasks well. He knows when our hearts and minds are prepared for a task that only we can do. When we're ready in His eyes, He won't hesitate to call on us.

In His Joy,

Dotty

A Series of Transitions  by Teresa Spurlock

I am not high-strung. I consider myself "flexible". But lately, I've had snippets of recurring anxiety. I stopped to be still and reflect. Transition. That's what it is. I have been in a series of transitions for some time, but hadn't stopped to think about it. Now it was rolling over the top of me...

This past year was a roller coaster of change. We sold our home in Iowa; packed and moved back to Colorado. Stored our belongings and lived in a friend's apartment for 6 months. Took in our pregnant daughter and stood beside her through another birth. Lamented when she turned and went back to her unhealthy relationship. Attended a wedding of a dear friend (a widower whose late wife had been my mentor). Joined my church's team to Uganda (a last minute addition). Finalized paperwork and got approved for a non-profit. Took in our daughter again. Moved to a new house and neighborhood. Bonded with our small grandsons. Grieved when my husband lost his job. Pondered as my church's pews emptied after another series of events. Mourned when our grandsons and daughter left again. Listened as others shared their own version of tremendous trials. Yes, this past year has been a series of transitions.

My phases of transition: excitement/anxiety....darkness....shaky ambiguity...new season...repeat!

I often visualize the scene in the movie Apollo 13. Everyone was excited for lift-off; but no one anticipated the words, "Houston we have a problem." Meanwhile the seasoned astronauts rotated to the dark side of the moon and all was silent...

Silence. Darkness. Why do we equate that with bad things? Fear of the unknown I guess.We try so hard to find a flashlight of friends with advice to break the silence and validate our dilemmas. It is not enough. Perhaps it is supposed to be silent and dark...

"the silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His words and may be a sign not of His disapproval but of His approval and His way of providing a deeper blessing for you." Streams in the Desert

In the movie, the onlookers hold their breath. Meanwhile the travelers learned, adjusted and applied what they could, before bracing for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. I get that part. Often my transitions feel like intense moments of shuddering and shaking until I see the light and find my footing in a new season.

I am just coming out of the quiet, the dark. I am feeling the shaking. It is humbling. It reminds me that I am not in control. From quiet to not so quiet. From still to shaking. From now to next. The pattern of transitions. Oh that I might learn to recognize and then even welcome it and all it brings...