As children, we were innocent, so full of life and joy. The world was a huge place that we tried to understand and maneuver. We were completely unaware of the hidden dangers like a hot stove or exposed electrical socket. Despite the protection of our caregivers, we fell prey to the dangers of life. Somewhere along the way, we were dropped and the scraped knee of the past remains the open wound of present.
The Story: 2 Samuel 4:4
In 2 Samuel 4:4, we meet Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. From ages 1 to 4, he was an active little boy. He ran and played with other children. However, his small world changed in an instant. His nurse received the news that Saul and Jonathan died in battle. The nurse, who was responsible for the child, picked him up to leave the area in a hurry and dropped him. As a result, Mephibosheth became lame at the tender age of five.
The Lesson
We delved into Mephibosheth’s new life with David in the post, “Injured But Not Forgotten,” but here the focus is on him. We see the result of his injury in 2 Samuel 9:8. Although he’s now in David’s home, he refers to himself as a dead dog. His view of his life reveals his lack of hope or potential.
How often do we define ourselves by the place where we were dropped. We wallow in the shoulda, coulda, woulda. We bask in the hurt and wear the pain proudly as our battle scars. Furthermore, we reject the possibilities of the present due to the pain of the past. We even erect a memorial to remind ourselves and others of the drop experience.
Unfortunately, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we’re over the drop. Yet, we build walls so no one can reach us to drop us. Or our former kindness is now anger because we will drop you before you can drop us. In addition, we become all things to all people in hopes of never being dropped again. All these facades exist to prevent a future drop.
However, all the hard work is for nothing. We fail to realize that we also dropped ourselves. Our dropping left us in the dropped place. We allowed our lameness to define us. We made a home in the brokenness. Fortunately, we don’t have to stay there.
Whatever was dropped can be picked up. Drop to your knees and allow God to pick you up. Drop your tears to grieve the fall and know that God picks up each of them. Drop the hurt and pick up healing. Drop the anger and pick up forgiveness. Drop the lameness of spirit and pick up wholeness of heart.
