In the background, I must have also been thinking of the chapters I'd recently read in 1 Samuel. The book opens with Samuel's mother Hannah mourning her barrenness. I've always loved these lines, in which her husband Elkanah clumsily tries to comfort her: "Hannah, why are you crying?... Why won't you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than 10 sons?"
As I walked beside a brook that was actually babbling today from the recent rains, I smiled at my Beloved. "You're better to me than 10 husbands," I said.
The moment the words left my lips, I realized what a backhanded compliment that was! I laughed out loud at my silliness. What good would ten husbands be? What did that mean, anyway? Ten husbands in a row? Who would want that? Two husbands in a row were more than enough for me.
Even worse, can you imagine having 10 husbands all at once? I snorted and smirked.... Then again, I mused, I guess female polygamy could have its benefits, if there were a way to make that dynamic work: one husband to cook dinner, one to wash dishes, one to do laundry, one to mow the yard, one to fix the dishwasher, one to rub my sore feet at the end of a teaching day, one to make me laugh when I most needed it....
"God, you really are better than 10 husbands," I concluded. "You are everything I need, all in one. Thank you for supplying all my needs: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Satisfy me with your love today, Beloved."
I think I felt Him laughing with me. What a lovely way to start my Sunday morning.
I wanted to share a silly picture of myself, but I couldn't find one. I need to be silly more often...
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| This little girl knows how to be silly. I hope she always will. Allyson, November 2009 |
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