Dunghills

 

Hannah's prayer found in 1 Samuel Chapter 2 is one of my favorite passages of scriptures.

It is also a passage in which much can be learned from the footnotes.  

And in which I take a bit of poetic license in my interpretation. 

Starting in the very first three words.

"And Hannah prayed".  

But the prayer goes on in such a way that she is not only talking to God but also herself, and I can picture her going about her daily work and duties as she prays.

But the footnote actually says "singing, sang, sung".  

Can you see her sweeping her floor, preparing a meal, headed out to pause and serve others and continuing to perform her song with God?  

Can you hear her reminding herself  with the chorus to keep pride in check? "Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed."

Can you see her adjusting her course day by day when she's more and less righteous? 

Not to put fault on Hannah, but I see my own human ups and downs In her possibilities.  I simply don't think she sat quietly and prayed at the temple for her whole life.

Because that's not reality! 

Can you see her over the course of the years reminding herself God is with her when she is rich or poor,  low or high? 

That God is with us when we live and God is with us when we die?

Can you see her reminding herself that everyone's turns will come? 

Can you see her in the good times and the hard and difficult?  And even in the times where she looks around and says what kind of a dunghill (literally a pile of poop) is this I am in? And at that moment she says "he lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory".  

Life definitely has ups and downs for all of us. And sometimes we will truly look around and say I don't want it to be like this.  

This is hard. 

This is unfair.  

This is ugly.  

This is deplorable.  

But even so, I will remember that He will

lift me up out of this mess if I turn to him and trust him and follow him.  

Even if I'm the one who made this mess. 

He lifteth up the beggar- the one who asks.

That's you and that's me when we ask for help in the right way.

And He keeps us on our journey toward the thrones of glory.  

My own song needs a bit of refinement, but I am asking for His help.  And like Hannah I know that "There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God."

And after all dunghills make great fertilizer for amazing harvests ahead!