A Teaching Mama
With
September a week away, I’m thinking about school and supplies and learning, but
what if…let’s say, your child has a trunk for a nose; it won’t know what to do
with it. Some newborns swing it like it’s a toy for jumping rope; some suck on
it like it’s a giant pacifier or the thumb they wish they had; Sometimes they
step on it, tripping so they fall into mama who might not like being bumped. A
five ton mama is not someone to anger. Baby might get a trunk slap.
But
mama is a good teacher. She has to be; God didn’t give baby elephants instincts;
they need to be taught what to do with their unusual appendage. From within
minutes of birth, when mama and other females help baby stand, until it is
weaned about two years later, mama has the important job of teaching her young
how to survive. Without words she demonstrates how to siphon water and squirt
in its mouth to drink. She pulls down branches with her trunk and plucks fruit.
The baby learns to use it like a hose and give itself a dust bath for
protection against sun and insects. It
watches mama dig to find underground springs, creating a water hole during the
dry season. The mama and other females exemplify love and affection, caressing
the young with their trunk, even wrapping it around in an elephant hug.
Since
you’re not an elephant…I know this because elephants don’t read, and you’re
reading this, you won’t have to teach Trunk Usage 101. But we can appreciate
God’s design, the love He instilled in His creation. Like baby elephants, we
need to follow Jesus’ example and learn to love and serve others as He did.
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