There's something calming about water. Over the past few months, I've found myself either walking besides or jumping into (wooo!) rivers, lakes and waterfalls. Each time Father has something similar to say to me. And this will be the inspiration for this next episode. Taken from Psalm 23. Not only have I received such blessing recently, but our prefect Max, from episode 5 is also about to encounter such beauty.
Max the seven year old prefect, practically created the role for himself upon arrival at the Carlton Pearse Primary school with his neat, prim and orderly fashion. Everyday he arrived to school wearing his perfectly pressed schoolboy shorts, uncreased coloured polo-shirt, teamed with his whiter than white tennis socks and polished loafers; and everyday he returned home exactly the way he came. Not a scratch, stain of dirt or crease of shirt. And if you weren't already staring at him, his intense blue eyes and perfectly slicked blonde hair, would definitely be a cause to start. He was surely striking and all the girls in all years new it. You could almost picture him being the next bond in the future.
Max the seven year old prefect, practically created the role for himself upon arrival at the Carlton Pearse Primary school with his neat, prim and orderly fashion. Everyday he arrived to school wearing his perfectly pressed schoolboy shorts, uncreased coloured polo-shirt, teamed with his whiter than white tennis socks and polished loafers; and everyday he returned home exactly the way he came. Not a scratch, stain of dirt or crease of shirt. And if you weren't already staring at him, his intense blue eyes and perfectly slicked blonde hair, would definitely be a cause to start. He was surely striking and all the girls in all years new it. You could almost picture him being the next bond in the future.
Although Max had a strong concern for order, Max was fascinated by nature. Being the rich kid, Max's back-garden might as well have been its very own nature reserve. There was beautifully crafted tree house right in the center of a colourful array of wildflowers, and towering over a glistening water fountain. And to top it all off, at the back of their garden, ran a river, formed over hundreds of years, into the hills a few miles away. As the only child, Max only had nature to play with. But he didn't mind. There was something about studying the plants and sitting beside the river that captured his little heart.
One sunday after breakfast his busy parents hurried out and Max decided to go to one of his favourite parts of the river. The waterfall. It wasn't a large one, but the current flowing down the glistening spotty stones were rapid enough to create rushing sounds of many waters. It was a beautiful day with a lovely summer breeze and the air smelt fresh, partly due to the water being purified below. Taking off his socks and shoes, Max sat at the edge of the bank and dangled his little feet into the waterfall. "Ahrrr", Max giggled, not expecting the water to be as cold as it was. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the water splashing against his feet. "I wonder who created all of this... There must be a creator...". Max pondered on these thoughts a little longer, then gazed up at the cherry tree towering over him. Max was amazed at such natural beauty. This was definitely, one his favourite places in the world.
By the time Max got home his mother had just got back from shopping and she was unloading her items while taking deep draws from her expensive cigarette. How she managed to multitask Max never knew. "Mum?" Max quizzed. "Who created the world?"
"God did hunny", she said as the smoke particles left her mouth. "Who is God?"
"I dunno Maxi."(His full name being Maximillion) "Well how do I find him?" Max's mother chuckled, almost choking on her last puff. "He's invisible love." She paused for a second. "Invisible?"
"Yes, like you can't see him"
"Mum, I know what invisible means. But that is not good, because I would really like to meet him."
"Great nana, always mentioned God when I was your age, before she went to hea.... HEAVEN! That's where God is!"
"Well how do I get there? Where is it?"
"Errm..," Max's mother didn't want to tell him that he had to die first so she said, "Well, I heard it's in the sky somewhere but I don't actually know how to get there. Sorry love. In fact, hold on a minute...", by this time she reached into the cellar under the staircase. "Great nana, left me this when I was a little girl." She blew the dust off of the book till it read 'Holy Bible'. "Here you go. You can have this. I think it will tell you a little more about God!"
"Ahh cool! Thanks mum!" And with that, Max ran off into the garden and climbed up the 19 steps to his treehouse (just like the date of his birth), and plopped himself on his multi-coloured beanbag.
He peered out of the small window, which gave view to the beautifully crafted gardens in the neighbourhood, the river and the distant hills. "God. If you're up in the sky, I'm much closer to you now up here. I hope you can hear me better. I really want to know who you are. Mum says this book will tell me more about you. It's a pretty big book too. So I guess there's much to learn because your pretty big. Maybe that's why the world's big too!" Max paused and pondered on his last statement. "Woaah!! That's cool. I want to be you're friend. Will you be my friend?" And with that he opened up the bible to its contents page. After turning the page, he read in large letters, 'Genesis'. Underneath he saw a big '1' and decided to read out loud. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Max's draw dropped. He had found his answer. He continued reading... "Then God said "Let there be light", and there was light! Woaaah!" Max continued reading. "God you created the sun, animals, sea, land and trees with your voice! That's amazing! I knew you'd be amazing!" Max read further. "And you made me too! Wow!! Then, does that mean like, you're my father?" Max was excited about what he was learning so he continued reading. By the end of chapter 3, Max had also learnt that the serpent had tricked Eve and that both she and Adam had disappointed God.
For a young boy, he'd done quite a bit of reading, more than he'd ever done in such a long period of time. So he decided to go for a walk along the river bank. Still in awe, and in wonder of the beauty surrounding him, Max tripped over a branch and fell over. The bible dropped out of his hand, and as the pages flicked amidst gravity, he caught a glimpse of yellow. Eager to find out what it was and unbothered about his current position, he flicked through the pages to find the yellow. When he finally found it, it was a small post-it note with a fading message because it was so old. It read "Sherry, may God be your shepherd for life (Psalm 23)". Before he decided to read it, Max picked himself up and decided to sit closer to the river. He wanted to hear the water passing by as he read.
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
As he read these lines out loud, he felt a sudden peace come over him. He didn't know what it was but it felt better and reached deeper than the sounds of water. In that moment, he realised God was with him and a tear rolled down his cheek. Little did he know but his soul had been restored.
Kingdom Seeker-Signout 7!
03/08/11
Copyright © 2011 Abisola
