Victory

I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you, to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.

Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.

Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.

Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets.

Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

Psalm 144:9-15 (bold added)

I’d forgotten how to play Candyland. Apparently you draw a card with a color-square on it and move to the next square with the corresponding shade. If there are two color-squares you move twice. Once you add in the candy cane card (and maybe a peanut card or two) you move forward or backwards with the luck of a draw.

I played a few days ago with two of our repeating visitors, and the game disintegrated as the 7-year old boy started arbitrarily jumping blocks. I tried {inserting-a-message-on-cheating,} but I’m sure my attempts to build character fell on distracted ears. While the older girl designed her own Barbie Fashion line on my lap top, our 7-year old friend and I:

1) Danced

2) Played aforementioned game

3) Played “swing”

4) Drew flowers…& portraits…& then rolled up the paper and hit me with it…

5) Ate snacks

It made me remember that most little boys require a lot of physical energy whilst their female counterparts usually require more visual attention. (Sorry if generalizations make you uncomfortable.) He challenged me to be constructively creative, attentive, firm, and physically strong all at once. Most of all, as children do, he called me to be fully present with him in every way possible.

All this occurred as Sara tutored an older girl through an extensive chemistry workbook.

We are back in full force in the South Bronx, with a beautiful new addition in Meredith, and a renewed commitment to community through the love of Christ. We met for breakfast last week to build community inside our walls as we continue to welcome others in.

Today Meredith and I welcomed five of the kids to an afterschool snack and homework session. It was Meredith’s first time with most of the crew, and I’ll let her give her own account. ;) It took a lot of energy, but within a few hours we had five young scholars with completed homework and apple w/ peanut butter filled bellies.

I often find myself playing disciplinarian, but I pray to continue to do so with grace, patience, and the love of God. I admittedly have an agenda: I hope to instill good character so that our time spent here is not self-contained, but proves fruitful for many generations to come.

And yes, an unforeseen candy-cane card might pull us a couple paces back once in a while, but we all keep our eyes on the finish line of victory.