Jackie's Journey: Raising an Alert Knight

Little boys are born with an adventurous spirit!  They see themselves as trusted warriors with swords whittled out of sticks and pieces of wood.  They visualize heroic acts of valor.  God designed them that way.  As parents, we want to encourage our little men to be strong and courageous. They will grow to know a God who is mighty and has a defined plan and purpose for their lives. 

Since we moms spend the bulk of our time with our little boys, God’s plan is for us to be the “movers and shakers” in shaping these young knights-in-the-making.  The responsibility of being alert to unpredictable dangers that will hinder our efforts is crucial.  What would you say is the key to being alert? 

Would you like that key? 

The pre-requisite to raising an alert young knight can only be accomplished as we walk in a consistent, intimate relationship with God.  When we are mighty in Spirit, little hearts learn how to watch and respond to the dangers in life. 

Are you mighty in spirit?

Are you alert to signals of danger in the life of your son?

Alertness is the awareness that a deadly enemy is stalking us. Being alert is acting quickly on signals of danger. “A wise man will hear danger and increase learning.”  Pro. 1: 5   Dangers come in many forms. We are called upon to be alert to physical, spiritual, moral, mental…. hazards in life.  Preparing our little guys to face life’s temptations is an immensely inclusive charge.  Sometimes danger seems harmless at first…a nuisance, but once we compromise a little we find it consuming us!  Little ones read our spirit and will follow our example.  We have a responsibility to act on what we know and to teach our little ones to obey God and their authority (us!).

Young Sir Alexander exemplifies the character quality of Alertness.  He is the youngest of the five brothers.  His valor and alertness are tested when he guards the palace and fearlessly and vigilantly responds to the dangers transpiring around him.

A valiant knight is alert and acts quickly to dangers in life that creep in unaware.

We trust Sir Alexander will encourage and inspire your little knight as you teach him the importance of being alert to the predators that will try to rob him of the life God has planned for him. Jeremiah 29:11

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Surreptitious Scorpion!

efore we arrived in Panama, we had seen the handiwork of the Kuna Indians and were amazed at their beautiful Mola creations. They would take the jungle and its inhabitants and meticulously sew them into intricate three layer tapestries.   We would soon discover the secrets of these pieces of art!  

Can you see the arthropods on this one?

A typical Kuna Mola

When challenged for tribal missions the unknowns were the most difficult to adjust to…and the unknowns were many and continual.  Honestly, there were more unknowns in our jungle life than I could ever have imagined while stateside…and trust me, I thought my fear had covered everything conceivable in preparation for our missionary service!

The word hope in the Bible is a term of certainty.  The Greek word translated “hope” in the New Testament is elpizo, which means,  “to anticipate with confident expectation.”  Uncertainty and the unknown are bedfellows!  They helped develop my capacity to be a woman of hope and not despair.

Arriving in the last frontier of Panama…the Darien Gap, I stepped over the threshold of our new home.  The Darien Gap is said to be one of the last wild frontiers in the world!

Had I not heard this before arriving??

It was dark and wet.  The mud-packed floor was cold!  Ralph had poured one cement floor in the house, but then realized it was not a viable option to do more considering the amount of weighty bags of cement that would have to be carried two days from Panama City by banana boat and, then, another day upriver by dugout to reach the shoreline of our village.

Kim, our youngest daughter, was a nursing baby when we first arrived. As the months rapidly slipped away from us, we knew she would soon be crawling.  Anticipating his daughter’s first attempts, her Dad found woodcutters from Colombia to carve a wood floor from the jungle.

He also brought in cats from Panama City to discourage the creepy crawlers, skittering mice, and flying bats in the house at night!  Kim loved the cats!  Right on cue, before the floor was finished, Kim began crawling and she was fast! She chased the cats and disappeared out of sight every chance she got!

Kim's friends

One morning her little friends were circling our bed in a very agitated manner.  Kim was as excited as the cats and crawling right behind them!  Swiftly snatching her up into my arms, I caught a glimpse of something large moving under the bed!  I was hoping it was a bird that had lost its way…

Not certain what had entered the house unaware, I instinctively picked up the biggest and heaviest object I had close at hand…Ralph’s size 14 combat boot!  With one fell swoop I smashed the largest scorpion I had ever seen.  Its crushed tail extended beyond the end of the boot!

Alertness is learning to foresee dangers and fully understand the consequences!  No problem here…I was on alert!

This, of course, includes creepy crawlers but also being alert to the dangers of our words, actions, attitudes, and thoughts!  My thoughts could never have visualized all the variables that became my almost daily occurrences.  Being alert to what was taking place around me was a practice that became inherent in our jungle life. 

Being watchful and prompt to meet danger or an emergency is the definition of alertness.  Learning to pay attention to the lessons God was teaching me through the experiences He was bringing my way were invaluable to my spiritual growth.  My anxiety, resistance and need to be “in control” often hindered His growing me up!

How alert are you?

Have those under your care experienced problems that should have been detected and corrected? 

Are you aware of opportunities God gives you to witness and encourage others to grow spiritually? 

What is the last problem you could have avoided by being alert to danger?