Lesson from a Child

Their smiles melt my heart and, at times, have literally brought tears to my eyes because of how very much I love them. I have often thought about how intense my love for them is and it reminds me of how that isn't even a miniscule, remote percentage of how much Jesus loves me. Believing parents are consistently reminded of their own relationship with the Father through their interactions with their own children, but I was particularly hit by that fact yesterday when we picked up our 3 kids from an overnight stay with the grandparents.

I am proud to say that both of my girls (we have 2 girls and 1 boy) have become huge daddy's girls. I'm not ashamed of it and I will flaunt that fact wherever I go and whenever I can :)! However, that has become especially true of our youngest, 14-month-old Lyric. She is usually obsessed with her daddy and rarely will let anyone hold her if I am around. She has gotten better about that as she has gotten older and started walking, but the fact is she still will come to me pretty much before anyone--even her precious momma. Ironically, yesterday when we picked them up, she went straight to her mom and didn't want me to hold her. I didn't think too much about it, (though my feelings were slightly wounded--haha), so I just waited for her to get all the momma love she needed and planned on picking her up when Kristen (my wife) put her down. Well, that didn't go so well either. Once she put her down, Lyric became interested in playing with a toy computer that was on the floor, so when I tried to pick her up and love on her, she was having none of that. She had become way more interested in the toy. I sat there crouched down, with my feelings really hurt this time, and thought, "Has she stopped being a daddy's girl? Is she upset with me? Why is she acting like this? All I want to do is love her and hug her and hold, and she won't let me." My heart was broken.

Then the thought came flooding in, "Don't you think that is the way God feels about you? He wants to pour His love over you? He wants to 'hold' you and feel and see you loving Him back with your heart and life, but so many times you turn to things that aren't necessarily bad, but just aren't where He is." It hit me that for the millionth time that God doesn't move, we do. He waits patiently for opportunities to lavish is love and grace on us, but we so often get distracted and go to other things before we ever allow Him into our situations. Just like Lyric went to other things and wasn't interested in me, we do the same to God...or at least I do the same to God. The truth is it doesn't even have to be bad things that I am running to. Lyric ran to valid things before she came to me that weren't bad, and were actually good, but my heart hurt because she didn't run to me first.

How many times do we run to other things, even good things, before we run to Jesus? How do you think that makes Him feel? Of course, He never stops loving us or lavishing His love on us even when we go to other things, but we would find peace so much quicker if we ran to Him first and let everything else fall into place as it should. A lesson learned from a baby. My simple mind needed that reminder.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

By the way, Lyric finally realized she needed me, and this morning when her mom got her up she whined and cried until she was in my arms. She's still a daddy's girl, and I'm still the Father's son.