One of the things that I really, really love about the Lord are the sudden turning points we encounter in our lives. The unexpected, but much needed bits a change in our lives.

Last night Ahren requested a bath, and was making it clear that his toddler brain was focused on water and toy boats. Being very tired, all evening I was focused on toddler bedtime so when he started talking about bath and boats I had a dilemma – bed or bath then bed? Thankfully, I made the right choice. Ahren had his bath…with no tears, screaming or disputing in anyway the normal bath routine as he had been doing for months.

I cannot say when he started disliking his baths. It was usually equal parts joy playing with his bath toys to loud anger and annoyance with the rest of the bath process. So last night, as my mind is amazed at this turn of events, I watch Ahren courageously suffer having his hair wet, shampooed and rinsed with no complaints. There is only toddler joy of splashing and toys.

All the while my mind is replaying over and over again – Really? A bath? Really? No tears? No screaming? Happiness? Really?

It’s a little thing. I recognize this. The Lord is helping me see a bigger picture though. How many things in my life have I accepted as this is how life is?

Before last night I came to expect Ahren’s reactions at bath time. I accepted it. I prepared myself for it. This was our routine. Nothing we tried to change the bath time experience helped so this is how life went. Then reactions change, and while I am pleased (very pleased) with this change, I still am pondering it.

I wonder if the Lord is helping me see the breakthrough in this small thing for a reason. Do I need to see the correlation here in preparation for the bigger BREAKTHOUGH that is coming? The BREAKTHOUGH that I have been waiting for, praying for, warring for. The BREAKTHOUGH that will come unexpectedly in the midst of my daily life, and mess up my thinking for a bit.

I am sure I will get over it though.

“And then God answered: ‘Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
And it doesn’t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It’s on its way. It will come right on time.’ ” Habakkuk 2:2,3

After a conversation with a friend the story of Tamar went through my mind, and I had to ponder it a bit. I thought I would share those thoughts.

According to Genesis 38, Tamar was married first to Judah’s oldest son Er, who the Lord killed because he was wicked. Then, as tradition in those times, she was married to the younger brother Onan. The Lord was displeased with Onan’s actions because he did not want to take responsibility to provide an heir for his brother Er. Seeing his two oldest sons are dead, Judah shifts the blame to Tamar, and sends her to her father’s house to wait until the youngest brother, Shelah, is grown. Or so he says.

Now we get to the part of the story where we see Tamar understand the situation before her: Shelah is grown, and she is not going to be given to him as his wife. Is it her fault her previous two husbands died? Nope. Does her first husband have an heir? Nope. So what is a girl to do? Take care of the matter, of course.

Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute, sleeps with her father-in-law, and obtains proof that she did. After it’s discovered she is pregnant, her family and Judah think she is quite naughty. Before they can put her to death, she sends Judah her proof that he was naughty too. Judah then declares she is in the right and was more righteous than he as he did not allow her to marry Shelah.

The word righteous in this instance means to make right in a moral or forensic sense. Judah declared she was righteous than he because he did not do what was right and proper. Tamar could have let the matter rest when she found out Shelah was grown, but she didn’t. She could have lived out the rest of her life as a widow in her father’s house, but she didn’t.

Tamar chose to not live under the judgments others had placed upon her. Instead, she mustered the courage to break through them without knowing what the outcome of her actions would be. She knew she had to try. Though her methods may be a bit controversial to us, she instead took a risk for what was right, and received her vindication.

Tamar gave birth to twins whose names were Perez and Zerah. Perez means breakthrough, Zerah means a rising light. What a beautiful gift for the courage she displayed.