by Chris Courtney

Call it what you want…

An “A-Ha!” moment.

Getting it.

The illumination of understanding.

God whacking me over the head until I get it through my thick skull.  (That would explain the headaches…)

The moment of clarity.

A theme repeated throughout one’s day (or week, or month, or lifetime) that may seem coincidental, even serendipitous.  But… I believe it is one of God’s wonderful ways of getting our attention.  After all, we are His children, and the LORD instructs, directs and corrects His children.  My five year old is a very bright young man.  But… I can tell him five times in the span of as many minutes (or sometimes far less), “Do not throw kitty in the air!  He will not stick to the ceiling!  He’s going to scratch you!”  And, despite my repeated warnings, guess what he keeps on doing… And, guess what the cat does when he lands on my son…

(NOTE: My son has never actually thrown any of our animals in the air, or even attempted such a stunt.  I use this merely as a fictitious, humorous illustration.  Writing about my boy taking daring leaps off the sofa in his Batman cape isn’t nearly as funny.  No animals or children were harmed in the writing of this post.)

Jen and I’s running joke about our son is that his listener is broken.  He hears… but he doesn’t always take heed to what he hears.  He doesn’t apply the lessons he is hearing.  The moment of clarity comes when the cat is hurdling downward toward his upturned head, legs sprawled out and claws at the ready for whatever – or whoever – he may land upon.

My simple point is this: if you keep hearing the same Scripture (or Scriptural theme) repeated over and over (and over) from disparate sources, and you feel it is confirming a suspicion you’ve had about yourself for awhile, and – this is the most important part by far – it all lines up with the Word of God, you may want to stop and listen. 

And prayerfully take heed of God’s Word, lest your upturned face become a claw-marked feline helipad.