Posted by Do you ever read a verse in the Bible and know that it’s for someone? This happens to me all the time. It’s rare that my time in the Bible doesn’t result in texting someone with an encouraging word.
I have a friend who has a rebellious son. He’s an incredible musician and has an amazing calling and purpose on his life, but he’s running from it, causing my friend much distress. There were times when I would see her and would know the culprit of the haggard look on her face: her son.
Galatians 6:9 is the verse that always reminds me of her:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Every time I read this verse I think of my friend and I pray for her and her family. Today, as I was praying for her son, the word “grounding” kept coming to my mind. I wasn’t praying for him to be grounded in the physical sense, but that he would be grounded, anchored, and rooted in God.
When I was teaching, there was one sweet student who could be rather rowdy in the classroom. This 4-year-old was always fidgeting in his seat, drawing on his friends’ papers (or the table, wall, or himself), and would almost never engage in circle time. At recess he would run and run and run, but would almost always end up hurting himself or someone else. But this child was a genius. When they were in Pre-school, we would do screenings with the kids to see if they should go to Pre-K or straight into Kindergarten. When we gave him a written sheet to fill out, he would just scribble all over it, as if he were a 2 year old. But when given an oral test, he was answering questions we taught 2nd graders.
His teacher knew the greatness he was capable of and worked diligently with his parents to find a solution. They changed his diet significantly and that helped some, but the most significant change came by adding in, what he called his “bean bag”. We’d place the rice-filled, fabric pouch on his lap when he did his seat work and he would be able to complete the entire page with perfect penmanship. Without the bean bag, it was just scribbles and out of control nonsense.
He wasn’t grounded.
We found out that this student didn’t know where he was. He wasn’t spatially aware, so he subconsciously felt like he was floating away. With that bean bag, that extra maybe pound of weight on his lap, he knew where he was and he could focus. If we ever forgot to give him his bean bag, he would ask for it, knowing that it helped him tremendously.
We’re all like this precious student. Without grounding, without knowing who we are or where we are, we make a mess. Though we hopefully know better than to color on walls or hit our friends, we lash out when we’re hurting or scared or unsure or out of control. When we’re not rooted in the truths of God, things begin to go haywire as our hearts begin reaching out, grasping for that one thing that will make us feel whole.
Let’s choose to be intentional about getting in and grounding ourselves in the word of God. By consistently reaching out to Him and allowing Truth wash over us, I believe we can feel secure when things around us are not. I pray that we would be grounded in God and that his word would be our anchor through the most tumultuous of times.
Work in Progress 