December 29th

Sitting Under our own Vines

               In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”
            For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

Micah 4:1-4

             Micah’s great picture of peace and justice is one of work.  When God’s kingdom is fulfilled and Justice reigns, men and women will be able to sit under the fruits of their own labor and enjoy the benefits of what they have worked for.  They will not have to fear enemy invasion.  They will not have to fear jealousy and theft.  They will not have to fear natural disaster.  They will not have to fear loss and poverty and ruin.  Instead they will work to build and to grow and then they will be satisfied and enjoy what they have endeavored to make.  And what they make will be enough for them to live on.

            There is a hopelessness and desperation that descends upon people when they realize that hard work alone will not meet the needs of their family…when they look around their community and see that they can work multiple jobs and still have their children fall further and further behind their peers…when they see that the positive steps that their community takes are negated by the drugs and alcohol and suicides that are used to treat that hopelessness…when that reality falls onto people they stop trying because the system of the world is designed to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

            What the rich tend to not understand is that the poor are not afraid of hard work and the sacrifices that requires.  They are afraid of that hard work being meaningless; they are afraid to spend what little resource they have on something that will not change their life at all, instead leaving them empty and helpless.

            I am terrified for my son.  I am terrified that all the steps he has taken, all the progress he has made, and all the skills he has learned will not be enough and he will be left to fend for himself with his books and his legos and nothing else.  What if something happens to my wife and I?  What if he has an accident and has more complications added onto his diagnosis?  What if he has an interaction with the police that escalates?  What if we give him independence and something horrible happens?

            The safest thing is to just stay with him…to go where he goes and do what he wants to do and live where he lives.  That way we can ensure that the efforts that he makes actually result in forward progress and a better life.  But how realistic is that?  Is that fair to my other children?  Is that beneficial for him or is it fear-driven, over-protective parenting?  I don’t have the answers and that chills me to the bone.

            What I do have is a promise.  One day, my son will be able to work hard in peace.  One day he will be free of the things that weigh on his heart and his soul and his mind.  One day he will be able to complete his tasks and enjoy the fruits of his labors.  It may be that the fullness of that is only available in eternity, but here and now I am determined to help that become a reality as much as I can.

            That is a daunting prospect for the new year.

A moment to reflect:

What do you want to see your child make progress in this coming year?  How can you help them make strides in that and enjoy their successes?