Scriptures, Serpents, and Sweet Abby

I can't think of anything more refreshing than a child who loves God's Word and enjoys memorizing it!

That's our soon-to-be eight-year-old Abby! Seems she has a special gift for remembering Scriptures. Reciting thirteen separate Scripture verses - with their references - in one session of her Awana class is proof of that! Just last week, when asked how she felt about missing Awanas because of a family trip, she replied, "I've learned all my verses, and I want to go to Awanas and say them. And I want to tell my teacher that it didn't take me a long time to learn them all like she said it would!" (As it turned out, she'll get to go tonight and say her verses.)

Of course, I'm proud of her abilities just as any grandparent would be, but even more than that, I am so thrilled that she is hiding His Word in her heart. She'll never forget what she is learning now. Oh, she may not remember every word in the correct order, but she won't forget the Truth of the Words she's memorizing and reciting. By the way, she's very much impressed with her NIV translation as opposed to the King James! After learning a very difficult passage from the KJV, she told me in a phone conversation, "Nana, I had to learn a verse last week that I didn't even understand! Mama had to explain it to me. Let me read it to you."

So she read to me a very hard-to-understand passage, one that I'm glad I don't have to recite from memory!

"Now," she said, "let me find it and read it to you from my Bible."

What a precious conversation . . . one that I am so thankful to be able to enjoy.

You've probably noticed the snake in the above picture. I am reminded that the ancient serpent, as the Bible calls Satan, is slithering around Abby - and all of us - hissing his lies and tempting us to follow him. But if we know God's Word and anchor our lives in His Truths, we can overcome all the devil's schemes.

Abby, keep learning your verses and reading your Bible. God has great plans for you! And just one more thing . . . I haven't forgotten about opening the frig and finding that snake coiled on the top shelf :-)!!

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light to my path . . . "