Wisdom to Bridle Freedom

The starless night was dark and dismal.

A woman in labour was in great pain.

The agony, decreed by God as a result

Of man’s first disobedience, increased

Reaching its crescendo by the end of

The fearful night which seemed endless.

Just then the virgin dawn was born

Piercing through the dewy veils of night,

With the young sun casting his tender rays

To dispel the gloom and darkness on earth.

The birds sang happily, feeding

Their little ones with the early worms.

Then, followed the birth of a human babe,

Pushing through the dark confines

Of her mother’s womb, her home so far.

The kindly nurses wiped their sweaty brows.

The mother lay relieved but weak.

The father smiled happily at his clannish

Genes evident on his daughter’s face.

The grateful grandma praised God for

The gift of a blue-eyed beauty safely delivered,

And also to see the end of her daughter’s

Night-long travail. She tearfully declared

To the nurses that a mother should not be

Allowed to watch her daughter agonizing so.

Then, slowly, the new mother opened her eyes

To see her infant, fair and already wide-eyed.

She named her JOY, as she knew that after a night

Of weeping, comes joy in the morning.

Yes, indeed, now her night of weeping in life was over.

Likewise, even Nature is groaning, longing for

The deliverance by our Lord at His Second Advent.

Now, there is festivity in the air, as Joy,

Our young lady has graduated from

School and is poised to enter a university.

Now, she stands tall, brave and confident,

A far cry from the once scared, withdrawn

Child clinging to her mother’s apron.

She can be seen endowed with the mysterious grace

The world sees in the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa!

But, as a grandma, I feel grateful to God

To watch her grow loving and fearing Him

In her daily walk even in this fallen world.

Today we are celebrating this big event

In her life as she is now legally wedded to

A reckless youth, called Mr. Freedom.

He will take charge of all her thoughts and activities

And tries to make her dance to his music.

She may have to satisfy his whims and fancies.

So, as a long-distance grandma, I have my own

Fears and, may be, foolish doubts…

What if he entices her with a seemingly

Innocent sweetness: the temptations

Of this scheming world look beautiful

Like the fair and smiling witch of Narnia.

Well, not only I, but many mothers

Will feel equally anxious and concerned.

Now the mother’s apron strings are cut.

Without parental protection and guidance

It is going to be a hard struggle.

Just as the new-born struggles and wails,

For the first breaths, away from the safety

And provision in the mother’s womb

Trying to breathe on her own

To exist as an independent entity,

Even so, it will be a struggle for life

For the eighteen year-olds to make an entry

Into the so-called free life the Law ushers in.

The parents are now reduced to spectators,

Eliminated from her plans,

Eliminated from her actions,

Eliminated from her choices

And need her permission even to have

I peek into her well-guarded privacy!

But take heart, dear mothers of the world!

All is not lost, after all! Cheer up, ladies!

We serve a God who is much bigger than

All the ice-bergs put together!

So, He made a provision in the very beginning

Even before He flung the stars in space!

Even before the earth stood in its place!

Even before sin entered this planet.

He created this earth all by His Wisdom

And prepared a luminous band of youth

Who dared to be different even in their teens.

We have the likes of Joseph of old

Who spurned the advances of his master’s wife.

David the shepherd boy who killed Goliath

In the mighty name of his Living God.

Also Daniel and his three young friends

Who refused to defile themselves

Eating the privileged daily feast

At the king’s table in the palace.

All these are some of our best role models.

They had no parents to protect them.

They were in exile serving their enemies.

But, as the Angel of the Lord walked with

The three young Jewish boys in

The fiery furnace, He will be with us too.

And, can we ever forget the young slave-girl,

An unnamed Jewish captive, serving Naman’s wife?

Instead of falling into Satan’s trap of being

Tempted to hate her master, who tore her

Away cruelly from her home and parents,

She thought kindly of this insensitive man’s

Cursed state and suggested a blessed way out!

What a blazing trail they all left!

Our children heard of all of them either in

The bed-time stories or in Sunday schools.

As for me, my role model happens to be

Madam Lois, young Timothy’s grandma.

What a blessing to be mentioned in

The Holy scriptures for her legacy of faith!

And, can we lag behind in emulating them?

Don’t we all know that help from heaven

Is just a prayer away? Yes, we do know,

And, so, here we go putting on the full

Armour of God and follow our Commander

To crush the machinations of the Enemy.

Our children need our prayers to protect them.

Let us promise to pray and to keep the promise.

Now, here is your grandma wishing you, Joy,

God speed for a bright and happy future.

May God’s richest blessings be yours all your life.

Only be sensitive to thenudging of the Spirit.