I am an intercessor here on the farm.
I didn't realize it until I was reading the other day.
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Levi wanted a bearded dragon for his birthday.
It is one of those things that he wouldn't stopped asking for for months.
My sister had some little lizards when we were kids, and we enjoyed them so much.
They were easy to care for and it was fun to catch flies and moths and watch them attack them and gobble them up. I know he can relate to this because the boy has spent countless hours catching bugs and feeding them to the spiders he finds hanging about in nests around the farm.
I asked him to catch bugs for the 5 baby ducklings we had in a pen in the basement this past summer,
and he was at it for over an hour. When he finally quit, I asked if he'd fed them many.
"I could only find about 20 bugs each," he responded.
So I know that keeping a reptile fed will not be a task he will ignore.
We got the kids kittens a few years back.
Lillie and Violet both have their cats, but his disappeared when we got the puppy.
I think a neighbor with a calmer household may have adopted him;
at least, that is what I tell Levi when he is upset that his cat never came home.
"Everybody has their own pets except me," he mentions.
It is true that we have plenty of animal choices around here,
but his older sister tends to dote on those so much,
they all see her as their leader.
When I tell him he has all those spiders as pets,
he tells me he can't hold them,
and I remember the tears he shed when his favorite spider up in the barn did not come out of his spiraling web to eat one day.
Spiders don't exactly have long pet lives.
I knew he wanted to have a creature of his own,
and as much as he draws dragons and dinosaurs and any other reptilian creature,
a beardy would be perfect for him.
I didn't tell my farmer.
I thought and read about them for weeks.
Honestly, I couldn't decide for myself.
Did I want to invest in the care of another creature?
Sure, it would be his pet and he would have to take care of it,
but I know that I have to be the overseer and make sure it gets done.
The initial cost is also one that is a bit more than a toy and once spent,
I want to make sure that that investment is taken care of.
Being a mother means overseeing everything,
even the things that they 'should' know to do:
dog water checker,
beta fish feed monitor,
duck-chaser limiter,
peep pen sanitizer,
cat/dog flea controller/monthly scheduler,
donkey hoof checker,
old arthritic dog lifter/protector from rougher young dog,
and general manager of any other creature that happens to pass through
(like the 'squashed' butterfly they found on the driveway that recovered in the jar on the table for a week and then, to our amazement, flew away after a drink of sugary water.)
If I had my way,
I'd be tempted to say,
"I have enough to do. Look at this house!
Does it look like it needs another dirt-producing occupant?"
"I have enough to do. Look at this house!
Does it look like it needs another dirt-producing occupant?"
Somehow though, something deep inside of me calls out to me:
that little girl voice that I hear from days gone by,
"Daddy, can I please have some pet geese.
"Daddy, can I please have some pet geese.
I promise I will take care of them."
Those days of watching him take the time to build that pen,
hours when he could have been sitting inside with his feet up enjoying his
"day off."
Those geese were my babies.
They needed to be let out every morning, fed, checked on.
They had to be penned every night so no harm would come to them.
I loved those geese and they taught me more about life than any book could ever have done. Wrapped in their care was my heart, and loving something you care for gives a perspective on life that lives inside of a person forever.
A real creature gives something that toys and books do not.
A creature chooses to love back.
It depends on you for it's life.
It has to build a trust in you that has to be earned,
even when it seems like the care is all coming from you,
unselfishly,
until that creature has decided that you are worth loving/trusting back,
even when that creature never says 'thank you.'
After weeks of reading, looking on Craigslist at the general costs,
stopping in the pet store to ask questions,
it was then that I presented the idea to the farmer.
I had done the research and aligned myself to the idea that a dragon is something worthwhile,
and yet, I still had to deal with the Farmer's possible rejection of it.
That can be hard, but I knew that if I have the facts lined up,
the cost,
the benefits,
the logistics,
the heart of our son.
I knew the case would fall on listening ears and be seriously contemplated.
And I know that those times my Farmer has said, "No," he has been right;
and I have been relieved of the frustration that was avoided.
The other morning, I was reading Romans 8,
and I came on these verses:
He does this same task for us,
in a grander, more serious scale:
in a grander, more serious scale:
the Holy Spirit.
We have an intercessor who sees the needs in our lives,
the trials,
the joys,
and He goes before God to plead for us.
God decides what is best for us. God knows what will work out to good,
even if we cannot see it from our dim perspective.
Not only do we have God caring for us as Christians,
but He gives the Holy Spirit to work with us daily,
to confront the sin we daily fight with,
but also to plead with God on our behalf
to enjoy watching the blessings given,
to cry with us when our hearts feel like they are breaking,
to watch us learn and hear us when we give praise to God,
to share our prayers with us.
Those spiders in the barn may have more work ahead in their meal planning come spring.
There is a new creature in life that takes priority in this boy's heart,
and I am thankful for the reminder of God's great care for us.
and I am thankful for the reminder of God's great care for us.
So happy Levi has something to love on and take care of....great post too, Mom!
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