Rock-a-bye Baby!

I

t's amazing what you can learn in an elevator!!  One Monday evening, I was preparing to give the final exam to my French 4 students.  I arrived early in the afternoon so I could proof read the exam one last time before making copies.  As I entered the elevator to take me to the main office, a young woman got on with me.  In her arms she carried a large book, her purse, and a three-month old infant who was securely sleeping in his carrier.  Despite the jostling of the elevator and the people getting on and off at various floors, the little boy just kept on dozing.  Nothing, it seemed, could wake him.  His was the quiet, deep, and confident sleep of safety.  He had no worries, no problems, no concerns, and no cares.  He was at perfect peace and rest!

Watching him sleep brought back memories of my own childhood.  Every evening before going to bed, my mom used to rock me to sleep.  My brother and I would come in from playing with our friends.  We would bathe, get our pajamas on, and then we would go into the den that was located in the back of our house.  Mom would turn off the lights and the television and she would turn the radio to a very low volume.  We took turns being the first one to sit on her lap.

While she rocked my brother to sleep, I would lie on the couch and wait my turn.  In the dark, I listened to the sound of my mother's voice as she hummed soft and low.  I can still hear the rhythmic, steady, creaking of the rocking chair, and I can remember the calm, peaceful feeling that settled over our den.  When my turn came, I climbed up on her lap, and laid may head against her, and just relaxed.  Like the child in the elevator, everything melted away.  All the cares of the day vanished, I wasn't afraid of anything, and all that mattered was that mom was holding me.  It was my time and no one else's.

The book of Isaiah paints a similar picture for the children of Israel.  During every period of difficulty, God always provided a time for them to be reconciled to him.  After the long and difficult trials, God constantly sought to comfort them and to give them special time with him. Isaiah 66:13 describes such a time: “I will comfort you there as a child is comforted by its mother."

What a wonderful picture of love this is.  God speaks here of restoring Israel, of providing for her comfort, and for giving her a time of rest.  Can't you just see God taking his children in his lap, holding them close to him, hugging them, and rocking them to sleep?  Can't you just see him as he enfolds them in his arms, letting nothing harm them, protecting them from the world outside, providing a safe haven for them to enjoy.

How long has it been since this happened to you?  How long has it been since God took you into his arms, sat you on his lap, and rocked you to sleep?  This is not an oversimplification of God's relationship to us; rather it is exactly what God wants to do for us.  This is the type of relationship he intended for us to have with him from the beginning.

As a mother comforts her child, so God wants to comfort us.  My mother never wanted me to be unhappy.  When I was upset, she made me feel better.  When I hurt, she healed.  When I was cold, she made me warm.  When I was sick, she nursed me.  When I was afraid, she held me.  When I needed special attention, she rocked me.  Why would I believe that my Heavenly Father would do any less? 

When my mother rocked me to sleep, I was the most content I have ever been.  Nothing in all the world could ever replace that special bond and that wonderful feeling of comfort and security.  That is what God has in store for us.  He is waiting for us to come to him, to climb up on his lap, to place ourselves against him, and to experience true and lasting comfort.  Are you ready for your turn in the rocking chair?