Friday, January 9, 2009

Goin' On a Bear Hunt: a blogella

My Ella is really cute. She's two. She's really demanding. She's two. She's cute. Her favorite book is "Going on a Bear Hunt" it was purchased as a birthday present for Anson's 2nd birthday and we have not tired of it, yet! (Thanks Smiths!!!) In fact, I bought two for Christmas to give as gifts because we enjoy it so much.

Yesterday I had a little "Blog-ha!" while we were reading it for the,I don't know, hundredth time. For those of you not familiar with this story it's about a family that is going on a bear hunt. They get to obstacles and the "chorus" is, "We can't go over it, we can't go under it, OH NO! We've got to go through it!" Ella's face is adorable while she's singing this with me. Yesterday, this hit me...

"We can't go over it! We can't go under it! Oh NO! We've got to go through it!" God is good, but life can be hard. There are certainly situations that we come to and think, "This is awful. I just want to go back to bed and pretend that nothing happened." Some of us can recall that "thick oozy mud" that we had to struggle through, while others are standing it the "deep,dark forest" right now. Those things that God has prepared for us, ordained for us, cannot be avoided, and should not be avoided. When we walk through the "long wavy grass, and the whirling, swirling snowstorm" we have a promise to cling to. Do you want it? There are several, but this one in particular comes to mind.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:1-3

Here we are at the beginning of a new year, a new adventure, let's look it in the face and say together, "We can't go over it! We can't go under it! Praise God...we get to go through it!"

It is in those experiences that we come to know God deeper, more intimately, we don't want to miss out on that, do we?

6 comments:

berrypatch said...

Excellent, Ali. I remember singing this song in Girl Scouts. I didn't realize there was a book. I'm going to have to go find it. Fun!

Regina said...

Wow! That was an awesome story. Many times I have wanted to go over and under whatever it is I am going through. It has not been until recent that I have discoved that "through it" is where my relationship with Him is made rich.

Thanks for this post, now I am going to have to see if my children can check this book out from their library.

Hadassah said...

Awesome Ali! I love it!

Sheryl said...

Ali,
To soothe your weirdo mind, I didn't take "good grief" as negative. lol Thanks for the kind words. And do check out the book. I hope you like it as much as I did. Now I have to figure out what to read next!!!How do you follow Jane Eyre?

Sheryl in GA

Sheryl said...

Just read the blog entry on the bear hunting, hmmm...what wonderful insight God gives you. Thank you for listening to His whisphers. I know from experience they can be hard to hear when surrounded by little ones.

Sheryl in GA

Ali said...

Thanks Sheryl!!! :)