My son has a thing for sticks. He collects every good stick he can find. At any given time you’ll see him out in the yard waving a stick around like it’s a ninja staff. He keeps the collection in an untidy pile right next to the front door. I’ve found sticks in the laundry, sticks in the furniture, sticks in the car.

I admit I’ve never fully understood the fascination. I am, after all, a little lacking when it comes to the way of the ninja. Still I can see, in my own way, through his imagination.
I watch him as he dive kicks off of the big rock, making contact with a host of marauders attacking him. He spins to the left, staff waving behind him as the enemy flees. He is a master hiding in the shadows just waiting for his foes to make a move.

I wonder when it is in our lives that we stop seeing ourselves winning the battle. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood we often lose that warrior mindset. Where we were once valiant and invincible, we now see ourselves as weak and conquered.

The opposite should be true. When we are young we need a protector. We need someone to watch over us and keep us safe from the enemies that might surround. We do not yet possess the wisdom to know the difference between the ‘rights’ and the ‘wrongs’ before us. So we seek guidance from those wiser than ourselves, our parents, grandparents and mentors. Yet, here we are now, the parents, the mentors, the ones with the answers and we run scared when the challenges come like we are victims.

When did the enemy become more valiant than us? When did we give up our warrior staff?

Maybe it’s time we started collecting sticks again. We could pile them up by our front door so when we leave the house each day we leave armed with love, patience, joy…whatever we need. We would have our own personal arsenal with which to face the enemy.

Even better still, we have at our disposal a sword of truth, a breastplate of righteousness and a shield of faith. Perhaps it’s time we start wielding it with skill again. Perhaps it’s time we stand in the yard and open up our imaginations and face our giants. The truth is, it doesn’t take much to defeat them. In the end all we need is a little faith and a slingshot.

You see, we have become the Giants. We who follow Christ, have grown in stature, maturity and wisdom. We possess all the skills that we need for life and godliness. We, fearless few, can go out and storm the gates of hell taking them by force. They can never stand against us.

So let the marauders come. Let them come and try to steal our joy. Let them try to steal our peace. We, the fearless few, will stand like ninjas wielding our weapons in the face of evil.

All it really takes is a little childlike faith and the knowledge that we are more than conquerors. We can accomplish everything that we set out to accomplish. Fight on, fearless few, fight on.