Sunday, August 28, 2005
The Mole
I have a small mole on my right forearm that has become a troublesome creature. I'm not sure exactly what the reason, but children from all walks of life, and in various countries, have been attracted to this mole as metal shavings are attracted to a magnet. The first time I noticed that this mole was going to be a problem was when my younger son, Jess, was about a year and a half old. When I would hold him on my lap, he would absentmindedly fidget with it, kneading it and pinching it until I could stand it no longer and would put him down. He couldn't even touch it without sending shivers down my spine, much like the feeling one gets when one accidently brushes ones fingernails on the blackboard while writing, or accidentally scraping ones teeth hard together while eating. (*bubububububu*). When I was teaching in Egypt, various students also would zoom in on the mole. I can never quite understand why they don't just ask about it without touching it. It seems to me that God has created, upon my person, what might be considered a "children's giggle button".
Today, we were out with friends of ours who have a small son, four years old, who is quite precocious and more than a little curious about life. I was sitting in the middle of the backseat of their car between "mom" and "kid" who sat in a car seat. The car seat was level with my right forearm. He saw it. I was in the midst of a lovely conversation with "mom" when I felt that shiver. Automatically, my head swung around and my arm found a safe haven against my stomach. "Please, don't touch that. It really bothers me," I told him. He giggled. That can mean only one thing where children are concerned. Roughly translated into Childese, "don't touch" means "play with said object until said object doesn't work anymore". After a while, having resumed our conversation, I relaxed and evidently left my arm out unprotected. I heard a slightly childlike demonic laugh, and then again, the shiver. I pulled my arm away, but his little fingers, obsessed with this mole on my arm followed my movements until I couldn't take it any longer. I was wearing a long sleeved shirt which I had rolled to the elbows, so I unrolled the sleeves and buttoned them. The poor child looked disheartened, but I had to be nice about it. I wanted to say, "touch it again, devil child, and I will rip your head off and toss it out the window!" I'm not sure that would have gone over too well with "mom", so rolling up my sleeves was the only alternative.
Isn't it interesting how Satan can find those sensitive parts in us? He plays with them, teasing us and torturing us until it sends us into fits. He knows our weaknesses. He is also a believer. He knows what God's laws are and how we are supposed to follow them, and what it takes for us to earn our place in Paradise. He uses our weaknesses to keep us from getting there. If a person has a weakness for drugs or alcohol, he makes them more accessible. If a person tends to gossip, he finds the juiciest stories to pass around. If one is afraid of the dark, Satan makes sure there is much darkness and very little light. You see, Satan knows that if he picks that mole enough, he can take the focus away from God and make us see only the mole.
Protecting ourselves from the "picking fingers" of Satan sounds easy, but is harder than it seems. However, the results are rewarding. Prayers are the most important thing, but also, reading the Word of God covers us by giving us the weapon of knowledge against Satan's annoying little whims. Whether you are Christian and read the bible, or whether you are Muslim, as I am, and read Qu'ran, you can find, in scripture the proper sleeve for the arm. Satan hates it when we acknowledge God's love for us by reading his Words. Not only does it anger him but it frightens him because he knows that you are "arming" yourself against him, as another warrior would put on armor for the sake of battle. You are preparing yourself for a fight and by absorbing the words you read, you are equipping yourself with the best weapons of war. There is a reason God has given us these beautiful Words. He wants us to know how to protect ourselves from Satan. God CAN do everything, but sometimes he wants us to be able to do a few things ourselves.
Today, we were out with friends of ours who have a small son, four years old, who is quite precocious and more than a little curious about life. I was sitting in the middle of the backseat of their car between "mom" and "kid" who sat in a car seat. The car seat was level with my right forearm. He saw it. I was in the midst of a lovely conversation with "mom" when I felt that shiver. Automatically, my head swung around and my arm found a safe haven against my stomach. "Please, don't touch that. It really bothers me," I told him. He giggled. That can mean only one thing where children are concerned. Roughly translated into Childese, "don't touch" means "play with said object until said object doesn't work anymore". After a while, having resumed our conversation, I relaxed and evidently left my arm out unprotected. I heard a slightly childlike demonic laugh, and then again, the shiver. I pulled my arm away, but his little fingers, obsessed with this mole on my arm followed my movements until I couldn't take it any longer. I was wearing a long sleeved shirt which I had rolled to the elbows, so I unrolled the sleeves and buttoned them. The poor child looked disheartened, but I had to be nice about it. I wanted to say, "touch it again, devil child, and I will rip your head off and toss it out the window!" I'm not sure that would have gone over too well with "mom", so rolling up my sleeves was the only alternative.
Isn't it interesting how Satan can find those sensitive parts in us? He plays with them, teasing us and torturing us until it sends us into fits. He knows our weaknesses. He is also a believer. He knows what God's laws are and how we are supposed to follow them, and what it takes for us to earn our place in Paradise. He uses our weaknesses to keep us from getting there. If a person has a weakness for drugs or alcohol, he makes them more accessible. If a person tends to gossip, he finds the juiciest stories to pass around. If one is afraid of the dark, Satan makes sure there is much darkness and very little light. You see, Satan knows that if he picks that mole enough, he can take the focus away from God and make us see only the mole.
Protecting ourselves from the "picking fingers" of Satan sounds easy, but is harder than it seems. However, the results are rewarding. Prayers are the most important thing, but also, reading the Word of God covers us by giving us the weapon of knowledge against Satan's annoying little whims. Whether you are Christian and read the bible, or whether you are Muslim, as I am, and read Qu'ran, you can find, in scripture the proper sleeve for the arm. Satan hates it when we acknowledge God's love for us by reading his Words. Not only does it anger him but it frightens him because he knows that you are "arming" yourself against him, as another warrior would put on armor for the sake of battle. You are preparing yourself for a fight and by absorbing the words you read, you are equipping yourself with the best weapons of war. There is a reason God has given us these beautiful Words. He wants us to know how to protect ourselves from Satan. God CAN do everything, but sometimes he wants us to be able to do a few things ourselves.
