October 13th

Samuel Dedicated to God

            When Hannah had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young.  Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.  And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord.  For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him.  Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”

1 Samuel 1:24-28

             

                 Hannah knew that she only had her son because God had intervened in her life.  She had pledged that if she bore a son, she would see him dedicated to the service of the Lord.  She honored her word and brought the little boy to Eli, the chief priest, and gave him to the Nazirites to raise.  This is where Hannah’s story fades out of scripture while Samuel’s moves to the forefront.  Did Hannah have more children?  Did she feel that she and God worked out a fair arrangement?  Did she ever see her son again?  We just don’t know.

            What Hannah knew, that I forget over and over again, is that our children are not ours.  They are God’s and we get to look after them for a season.  We get to be stewards of this priceless treasure while they grow and develop and transform.  Our kids were not just given to us in order to shape our lives and our character…they were given to the world to do God’s work during their time here.  I always think of my children as “mine.”  They belong to me.  They came from my wife and I.  They are developing in my house and taking on more and more of their parents’ personality traits.  I am feeding them and clothing them and spending long hours trying to take care of them.  They are mine.

            In reality, they are God’s.  It is God who brought them to life.  God who poured passions and gifts and abilities into them.  God who gifted them to my wife and I.  God who declared that they would be born and raised in this place, at this time, because He had a specific purpose in mind for them. 

            Samuel would go on to become an incredible judge.  He would usher in the age of Kings of Israel.  He would speak blessings and curses over the people and God’s power would flow through his words.  I have my doubts about whether my son will follow in that career path.

            However, just because he is not about to have a book of the bible named after him does not mean that his life is simply filled with pure, dumb time.  There are people that he will meet and talk with and challenge.  There are organizations that will be provoked to change because of his time with them.

            Our kids are not subtle.  They are not quiet.  They do not slip in and out of social interactions without notice.  They will generate reactions, both positive and negative.  There will be policies and procedures that have always worked that do not work for them and people will be forced to choose how to respond.  Do they act out of compassion or out of privilege?  Do they look for ways to be inclusive or do they remain rigid and unyielding?  People are forced to ask themselves those questions because our children come into their lives.  God uses the special needs community to provoke change.  They may not have asked to be on the front lines, but they will be.

            Samuel’s early years were not of his choosing.  He did not ask to be sent to the temple.  He did not ask to live a life of service away from his family.  Those were choices made for him.  Eventually he came to a place where he had the chance to choose whether to continue on this path or not.  Sometimes our kids get to choose…usually they do not.  I think it is important to realize, as their parents, that they will never get to be anonymous and blend in.  If we know reality, we have the opportunity to prepare for it.

A moment to reflect:

How can you prepare your child for a life of being noticed and provoking reactions?