My Communion with a Momma Deer
Two of my children and I are enjoying some time away for a few days as a gift from a Christian brother and sister. What a gift! Time together away from the responsibilities that lurk over your shoulder when you try to relax at home. I could have ended that with just time together. As my children get older, I treasure the time I get with them, especially together. As you noticed, this trip we were missing one, but since he is busy helping young people love God more, I guess he gets a pass.
Today when we returned from a swim and I was waiting my turn for a shower, I sat outside enjoying the sun and the beautiful greenery in God’s creation. At about the time I stood up to go inside, a fawn appeared, enjoying some of that greenery in a different way. Of course, it wasn’t long before I could also see momma deer.
What struck me was her ever-watchful, diligent observation of their surroundings. That’s when I felt the communion with her. As a mom, that’s what I feel like I am constantly doing: watching for things that might harm my children whether they harm them physically, mentally, or – most alarming – spiritually. I felt that momma deer’s concern for her baby.
So imagine my surprise when it was the baby who first darted into the edge of the woods when it heard a sound. The mom looked around and did not see danger, but the baby took cover just in case. Apparently that momma deer has done a good job preparing her baby to watch out for danger. And maybe, just maybe, that’s what this momma needed to see right before she sends her youngest off to college.
Mommas, we have to trust the Lord Who gave them to us. He loves them even more than we do and He tells us through Solomon: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). If we have trained them to “be watchful” they will realize when that “roaring lion” is seeking them (1 Peter 5:8).
“We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” 1 John 5:18
AUTHOR: Amber Tatum
