You ever witnessed a mother (or father) sending her kid off on the first day of kindergarten? His (the kid's of course) hair is perfectly combed and laid down, his face is so smooth from having been wiped at so many times, its almost puffy from irritation. His clothes are smooth and maybe color coordinated to his book bag or his shoes.
She may be teary-eyed or not. But without fail she places his bag on his back, equipped with everything she imagines he needs for the day. His lunch with all the four food groups, are somewhere in that bag. Pencils, something to write on, are in the bag. Perhaps a note for the teacher, but certainly a note with his address, the phone number to reach his mother and any other important information about him, will be in the bag. Mother will also have told the teacher what his needs are.
She may have had him repeat back to her certain information to make sure he knows it. She has told him that he doesn't need to be afraid of anything. That though she is not there, can't inhabit that space with him - that she will know everything important that goes on and that she will handle it. She has told him that everything he needs is in the bag and if it is not in the bag then he can do without it. She kisses him and hugs him and reminds him how much she loves him. She tells him not to forget all she taught him, including her love for him and the fact he is going to be ok.
Of course as soon as he enters his classroom, he likely forgets it all. I mean he is only 4 after all. He gets so engrossed in his surroundings - a mixture of anxiety, excitement or apprehension, perhaps fear and the pressure of expectations to perform though he has no idea what or how, heightens his pulse rate and causes his nerves to vibrate.
His reaction totally depends on his personality. He may descend into tears, absolutely overwhelmed and just wanting to be with mother again. Or he may immerse himself in the moment, determined to fit into the group and to follow along. He may sit on the outskirts, skeptically watching all the goings-on, unsure of whether to jump in or run for the door. He may become so focused on his nerves and pulse that he stops thinking all together - flitting about impulsively, unable to self-soothe. Whatever he does - he becomes lost in the moment. He remembers mother. He remembers she had some advice for him, some assurances, but in the haze of the moment, he can barely remember what.
And so is God's relationship with us. Like a child sent out from his Mother into the world, he sent us out. Like a mother who wrote the notes of important information and placed it in here child's bag, he wrote important information on our hearts. Like a mother assuring her child that he has everything he needs to make it through the day and that anything he does not have, he does not need, so too God whispered his assurances to us.
Now imagine that Mother has multiple children, and each child she sends out for his first day of school gets a note with different information on it. Gets different words whispered in his ear to assure him, based on what she knows he needs to hear to get him through the day. So too God tailors his assurances to us. He sent us out into a physical world he does not inhabit. He wrote all the important information on our hearts. He made us promise to remember that they are there. That we will read them from time to time and that we will abide by them.
But just like Mother, He also knows we will not. He knows once we are in this physical world we will forget. He knows we will become lost as to what to do or too engrossed in the life around us to remember. He knows we will look at Betty, our classmates' lunch, and wonder why we didn't get something as delicious-looking as she did. Why we got what we got instead. He knows bullies will hurt us on the playground. He knows we may come back home with a bloody nose, or hurt feelings. So just like Mother, He sends us out with Hope. Hope that we will remember. Hope that we will do the right thing when the moment calls for it. And hope that even if we don't do it the first time, or the second, or the third, that one day, we will do the right thing. Hope that we will believe that although he is not inhabiting this space with us, that we are ok. That he has already put that into place.
Essentially, then, hope for our Faith.
The second thing that God prepares himself with, is the intent to forgive. Because like Mother (or Father), he knows we will "mess up." He has already decided that he will forgive us. Because he knows it will take time for us to do the right thing. He knows this is a process of learning for us and with that, he is patient.
And now that we're done with that...OK Faith, you elusive bitch...I'm coming for you....
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