The Weaned Child

Ok, so this is the Scripture that I have randomly flipped to numerous times in the last month! God is speaking!


Psalm 131

Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself
with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever.


This Scripture reminds me of my relationship with Lucie. I am always laughing at her when she cries so hard because she is hungry--and I am TRYING to feed her! She's never had to wait very long to eat. She's always been fed, and she always has enough; yet she can scream as if she's never eaten in her life! Then I realize how ridiculous I must look to God, when I'm freaking out about having enough money for rent, enough food, enough clothes. And I hear my own words to Lucie echoing in my ear: "Don't I always feed you? Lucie, Mama always feeds you." And I hear God's words in my heart: "Lindsey, haven't I always provided for you? Have you ever not had enough?" And I realize that God is far less likely to withhold provision from His children than a mother from her child.

So, what IS a weaned child and how does it behave?

Well, only THREE days later, I came across the SAME Scripture again, in The Baby Book, by Dr. Sears! No coincidence here... God is DEFINITELY speaking! Here is Dr. Sears' description of a weaned child:


"In ancient writings the word "wean" meant "to ripen"--like fruit nourished to readiness, its time to leave the vine. When a child was weaned it was a festive occasion... Weaning was a joyous occasion because a weaned child was valued as a fulfilled child; a child was so filled with the basic tools of the earlier stages of development that she graduated to take on the next stage of development more independently. A child who is weaned before his time enters the next state of development more anxiously and is less prepared for its challenges and less ready for its independence. An insightful description of weaning is found in the writings of King David: 'I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child is my soul within me.' The psalmist David equates his feeling of peace and tranquility with the feeling of fulfillment that a weaned child has with his mother." ~Dr. William Sears, MD in The Baby Book p194


Therefore, a weaned child is a fulfilled child--a child who is ready to take on the next stage of development more independently.

This word spoken to me at this time is full of hope. In all the hoping and waiting and trusting and waiting on God of the past season, it's good news to hear God say that I've completed this stage of development, that I'm ready to move onto to the next stage... that I've gained the tools I've needed in the past season, and have everything I need for the next season. *Big sigh of relief!* I'm glad to know there is SOME progress being made! Praise God, His GRACE is sufficient!