"Everything is relative". I have heard people say this, and have said it myself. It's very true. I've been thinking today about how my grandson Gavin relates big things to his uncle.
How big is your giant? How high is your mountain? To what do you compare your circumstances?
Are you like Gavin, who relates everything larger than he can imagine to the one person who is the biggest he's ever seen? Mike is literally two times taller than Gavin is, and outweighs him by more than two hundred pounds. That's really big to a five year old.
But if you're reading this, you're probably not a five year old. So to what do you compare your problems? What is bigger than you can deal with? How high is your mountain? How big is your giant?
There's another story in the bible about a boy who dealt with a giant. That one was named Goliath and he was 9 feet tall! The boy who faced him in combat was probably only 5and a half feet tall or so...he couldn't wear the king's armor that would have protected him, because it was too big for him. Turns out he didn't need it anyway. He went out in the power of the LORD and killed his enemy with a sling and a stone.
Perhaps your perspective comes from previous experience, much like Gavin's perspective comes from what he knows. But you're not 5 years old any more, and maybe it's time to develop some new ways of relating to your circumstances. Things aren't always as they seem. Mountains can be climbed, gone around, or tunneled through. People can be related to from a different point of view than you're currently holding. Giants are only as big as you allow them to be. Problems can often be solved if you're willing to look at them differently and maybe even ask for a little help.
Gavin and Mike. One small, one tall. Gavin won't always relate big things to Uncle Mike. But for now, he does, and I love it. It's one of those priceless things of childhood that you hope you don't forget. I hope this blesses you today. Peace and blessings to you and yours. Hold them close while you can.
My son-in-law Mike is 6'5". That's rather tall by anyone's standards, but according to Gavin, that's REALLY BIG. Whenever you talk about something as being really big, he'll ask, "Is it as big as Uncle Mike?" You can tell him that it's as big as the car, or as big as the dog, or as big as the house or anything else relative from your point of view, but he will ask again, "Yeah, but is it as big as Uncle Mike?" He relates large size to his uncle because Gavin is only 5 years old, and to him, Uncle Mike is a giant. My daughter told me a story of how one time, in a store, they saw a man who was at least 7 feet tall. Gavin asked, "But is he as tall as Uncle Mike?" There was no explaining to him that the man was taller than Mike, because no one is taller than Uncle Mike! As far as Gavin is concerned, Mike is the biggest person he's ever seen. I love this exchange whenever it happens, because it is just so typical of kids to cut to the heart of a matter in accordance with their perspective of things. Uncle Mike knows this about Gavin too, and he is really gentle and tender-hearted toward him, and squats down as low as he can to relate to Gavin face-to-face. There's no fear between them, so please don't misunderstand what I'm relating here. I'm simply talking about perspective.
Sometimes things seem so big to us, we can't believe we can deal with them. There doesn't seem to be any way to get over the mountain to a better place. A person we're dealing with is too overpowering for us. A situation is more than we can handle.
"There are giants in the land", came the report from some of the spies that were sent to check out the Promised Land before God's people went in to occupy the territory. You can read about this in the bible in the book of Numbers, chapter 13. Ten of the twelve who were sent to check out the territory before God's people went there, came back with a report that the food was great but the people were too big."there are men of great stature" "There we saw the giants.." Num. 13:32 They were afraid to go in to the place that the Lord was sending them to as their new home. Two came back with a good report, that the food was great and that they were able to go in and take the land. " The LORD is with us. Do not fear them." Num.14:9How big is your giant? How high is your mountain? To what do you compare your circumstances?
Are you like Gavin, who relates everything larger than he can imagine to the one person who is the biggest he's ever seen? Mike is literally two times taller than Gavin is, and outweighs him by more than two hundred pounds. That's really big to a five year old.
But if you're reading this, you're probably not a five year old. So to what do you compare your problems? What is bigger than you can deal with? How high is your mountain? How big is your giant?
There's another story in the bible about a boy who dealt with a giant. That one was named Goliath and he was 9 feet tall! The boy who faced him in combat was probably only 5and a half feet tall or so...he couldn't wear the king's armor that would have protected him, because it was too big for him. Turns out he didn't need it anyway. He went out in the power of the LORD and killed his enemy with a sling and a stone.
Perhaps your perspective comes from previous experience, much like Gavin's perspective comes from what he knows. But you're not 5 years old any more, and maybe it's time to develop some new ways of relating to your circumstances. Things aren't always as they seem. Mountains can be climbed, gone around, or tunneled through. People can be related to from a different point of view than you're currently holding. Giants are only as big as you allow them to be. Problems can often be solved if you're willing to look at them differently and maybe even ask for a little help.
Gavin and Mike. One small, one tall. Gavin won't always relate big things to Uncle Mike. But for now, he does, and I love it. It's one of those priceless things of childhood that you hope you don't forget. I hope this blesses you today. Peace and blessings to you and yours. Hold them close while you can.
