By Lynnett Mlambo
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Genesis 4:9–12
I have watched many movies in the past, some showing how trees live in harmony, some showing how wild animals behave. They also communicate in their own language. In all these movies, the animal kingdom is typically led by the lion, and all the animals listen to and revere it. Some imaginations are beyond limits when furniture comes alive with pots gossiping with cups, and cupboards whispering secrets to curtains. It's all very imaginative, isn't it? But amazingly enough, it's close to the truth. Yes, I said that: it's the truth. Everything is speaking. The only thing is you just don't understand the language.
In a way, everything cries out, from the smallest stone to the loftiest tree. Note what God spoke to Cain: "Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground." At first look, it sounds impossible blood can't cry out, how can it? But I believe this is God's way of showing us that everything He created has something to say. Just because you can't hear or comprehend something doesn't mean that it's silent.
This reminds me of a certain moment in our lives when our second son was four years old, and he still hadn't gotten the hang of talking. It's easy enough to label a child a "late bloomer" but what we endured, were blood-curdling screams that took the place of words, and it was exhausting emotionally. If he wanted something, he would scream. As parents, the desperation we felt at his situation was crushing.
During this time, he has a three-year-old sister, and I was pregnant. In all honesty I had to learn extreme patience but however as much as I needed the patience getting it was a slow process. Seeing that they were so small I couldn’t drop the ball. My husband also asked years ago if he was autistic. But I held fast to stubborn faith. I did not want to adopt that narrative. Instead, I learned new methods of engaging with him. I hugged him more. I sang with him. We did praise and worship together, and I observed something: he picked up songs faster than he picked up words. So, we sang, a lot.
Gradually, he began communicating in words through music. That gave him confidence to speak. I tried to introduce other languages, and he quickly picked them up. We finally found his language, he was singer. Children are different. Someone said to me once, "Children are gifts from God. Every gift is unique, unwrap them expectantly and be ready to be surprised." That was something that has never left me. As our son began going to crèche, his speech started to emerge. By gentle nudging and ongoing prayer, he began to string words together.
He's seven now, and I can announce with utmost joy that the boy speaks! No, in all seriousness, he's a chatterbox. We can hardly shut him up. We bribe him with candy sometimes just to give us a respite from the wave of questions. And what do you know? He loves to sing praise and worship songs. He learns them in the snap of his fingers. If we had not been patient and wise, we could have resorted to medication, just because he did not have the speech pattern we anticipated.
We would have lost the beautiful gift hidden in him. The gift of worship. Trusting in God, and having a willingness to listen, was the key to unlocking his unique mode of communication. Children teach us much more than we could ever expect. This lesson in life taught me that patience is, and will always be, a virtue. On top of that all people and things speak we just need to understand the language being spoken. God is love, let LOVE guide, always.