Fussing

Norah is now almost two years old. One thing this means is that every day she gets a little better at talking. I love having a baby at this stage because they are always up for trying new words on for size, which means I get to tell Norah to say things like, “What’s up, yo?!” There is hardly anything in the world cuter than hearing a little baby voice say the words, “Peace out homies.” The bad thing about this stage is that Norah is not really used to asking for things in the English language… she is used to fussing and crying when she needs something. Whether she’s hungry, hurt, tired, sick, uncomfortable or just frustrated, all we hear is this “Waaaaaaaaaaah…” Sometimes it’s a low, slow and bothered whine and sometimes it’s a loud and proud scream. The problem is that when she does this we don’t know what she needs. As a result, we are constantly training her to use her words rather than fuss when she needs help.

Christy said it best: “It always seems like we are just trying to get her to come to us for what she needs rather than just throwing a fit.”

In Mark 10 when Jesus was leaving Jericho on His way to Jerusalem someone started screaming His name. It was a blind man named Bartimaeus sitting on the side of the road and when he heard that Jesus was passing, he just started screaming, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!” People told him to shut his yapper, but that just fired him up all the more! Finally Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over.” The other folks standing around grabbed Bart and led him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Time out.

Are you kidding me Jesus? The guy is blind! He’s crying out for mercy… what do you think he wants you to do, tie his shoes?! I mean, to me it’s pretty obvious that the blind guy asking for help wants you to fix his eyes… on the other hand, how many people are really aware of what’s wrong with them? How many people out there could actually tell you where they most need help? If Jesus asked you, “What do you want me to do for you?” would you have an answer? Most people tend to think they’ve got it all together and don’t need anything, but when something bad happens they fall apart and don’t really know why…

I know that I have a tendency to do that… like Norah, I just whine and throw fits without using my words…the only problem with that is that I am not 21 months old! Lately I’ve started making a list every day or so of the four or five things I just can’t handle and want Jesus to take full ownership of and responsibility for. It’s my ‘weakness’ list. It’s me, using my words… telling Jesus exactly what I need Him to do for me, and you know what? He reads that list and is taking care of everything.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “Your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”