Stretching, Growing, Changing

Where are you seeking peacefulness in things remaining the same when true peace is in stretching and growing and maybe changing your relationship to and dependence on authority?

Psalm 131:2-3

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

my soul within me is like a weaned child.”

I spent my teen and young adult years listening to the Waterdeep recording of this Psalm which has now been playing in my head all week. (Listen along on Spotify or YouTube, if you would like an indie 90s Christian music throwback.)I see interpretations of this passage that describe a weaned child as peaceful and dependent on their caregiver. I am going to separately talk about both of these characterizations over the next two days. Now, I know that there are many different methods and theories on weaning a child and how parent- or child-driven the process should be, but in all cases, it is NOT easy or comfortable. Calling it “peaceful” feels like a stretch.

Let’s begin with investigating the idea that a weaned child is peaceful. Who wrote these interpretations?? Have they ever weaned a child? Or watched a child in the weaning process?

There are engorged breasts, changes in sleep patterns, and feelings, so many feelings, as well as a shift of whole physical, emotional, and interpersonal family dynamics. For everyone. Growth is always a challenge, even when it is the right next step.

When I read, “like a weaned child is my soul within me,” I hear, “my soul has been stretched and grown in ways I did not anticipate and would not necessarily ask for again. Oof, that was hard, and it has changed me.”

Where are you seeking peacefulness in things remaining the same when true peace is in stretching and growing and maybe changing your relationship to and dependence on authority?

—Theo Isoz