Foreign Words

"We had such cool visitors in our social studies class today!" Ollie told his parents one evening. "Mrs. Berg invited a Vietnamese family to talk to us about their culture and tell us what it's like to try to fit into the American way of life without losing their heritage.""Interesting," said Dad. "What was the hardest thing for them?""Learning English." Ollie got up and took a paper out of his backpack. "This is what their language looks like."Mom and Dad looked at the foreign words. "I know it would be hard for me to learn this," said Mom. "And life would be confusing and scary if I couldn't talk to people or understand what they said to me.""It sure would," agreed Dad. "And I'm sure it's just as scary and difficult for them to learn and understand our culture and language." He reached for his Bible. "Time for devotions."Ollie, who had started to get up, sat back down. "Okay, but you know what? Some of the things in the Bible are hard for me to understand--about as hard as some of these foreign words." He shrugged. "I know our Bible is written in English, but some parts of it still don't make sense to me.""Tell me," said Dad, "did the Vietnamese family finally figure out what our English words mean?""Not all of them, but they understand a lot more now than when they first got here.""How did they learn the meanings of English words?" asked Dad."They studied and studied," said Ollie. "They got help from some teachers and friends too.""In other words, they were persistent--they kept studying," said Dad. "We need to be persistent in studying the Bible too. The more we study it, the better we understand it.""And we need to ask for help," said Mom. "Your dad and I can help you understand some things, and Pastor Baxter and your Sunday school teacher can help too. But most of all, God can help. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and understanding about Jesus and the truth of His Word. When we read the Bible, He helps us understand what God is saying to us."Dad nodded. "As you read and study the Bible, ask God for wisdom, and He will help you." – Nance E. Keyes