My wife is a great aunt to her sister’s three year old grandson. They could and do spend hours working with this precious little boy, and I have to tell you those two women appreciate the things that Evan teaches them…instead of the other way around. At Evan’s playschool, the children learn all kinds of little songs and exercises. Then Evan comes home and sings or performs for his family. If you have a little one in your life, you will understand all of this on a level that most people miss without having toddlers in their lives. For example, my wife loves the videos her sister sends from Arkansas, and the latest one is called “Going on a Bear Hunt.” Evan pretends to be going on a bear hunt, but along the way he has to deal with several obstacles; after all everything is not always rainbows and cartwheels in children’s lives. They have obstacles, tests, and trials too, in their daily living.
The first obstacle for this bear hunter Evan sings about is a big candy factory. The next obstacles are a peanut butter river, a jello wonk, a cave, and I believe a wheat field if I remember correctly. Each time he faces an obstacle, he says or sings “Can’t go over it, can’t go under it, can’t go around it…HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT.” This small child may have some wisdom here he can impart to us. You see, when we ourselves meet our own obstacles in life, we should not try to escape having to go through them. For afterward, we realize we would never be the same if we had refused to go through them or had tried to get through an obstacle without a willingness to face the facts and to go through whatever is required for victory in our lives. And Evan may not know this at his young age, but we know we have the Lord that will walk and sometimes even carry us through our ordeals and/or obstacles. His Word says He is with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us, no matter how it feels or seems. This is His promise; on this we can rely. In Him we shall go through whatever the enemy is trying to frighten us or take away our joy with. Victory is ours in Christ Jesus. Keep walking.