Children Who Can Withstand Anything

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Ray and I are enjoying a two-day and two-night sleepover visit from our youngest grandson. He is four years old and a delightful combination of a deep thinker and a really fun kid whose laughter is ever ready to bubble over. When we picked him up at midday on Tuesday, our first stop was the playground at Gainesboro Bicentennial Park, a block off the square in beautiful downtown Gainesboro. He and I rode the seesaw, we climbed to the top floor of the big play structure, and he pushed me ’round and ’round on the merry-go-round.

Just before we left the park, our grandson and Ray and I gathered under the big tree at the edge of the park, and our grandson climbed the tree’s roots. You may wonder how in the world He climbed tree roots. Gainesboro is a town built on hills. This small park is on a steep one. It has a children’s playground and a covered pavilion with 2-3 picnic tables on its upper, western level and a small basketball court on the lower, eastern level. A long staircase connects the two areas.

A concrete sidewalk lines the four sides of the rectangle playground. The playground borders South Union Street to the west, and the sidewalk is only about five feet from the street. Those five feet are vertical. A large tree sits at the edge of the street. On the street side, its roots reach deep under the street. On the playground side, the roots are in plain sight. They are a wonderful picture of a tree’s root system. No wonder trees are able to stand so straight, tall, and strong.

One of my first drawings in Miss Judy’s art class back in 1998. I copied it from one of her art books.

Psalm 1 promises that we can be like a firmly planted tree.

Psalm 1

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1 is a perfect description of what I want for my children and grandchildren. When they are firmly planted in the will of God, they can withstand anything. Painful things may happen to them. Painful things likely will happen to them, but they will be able to stand.

Now to Him who is able
to keep you from stumbling,
and to make you stand in the presence of His glory
blameless with great joy,
to the only God our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, dominion and authority,
before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24

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