It's dinnertime. I open the fridge door, and pause long enough that my little girl comes running to see if she can find anything exciting for herself in it’s cool depths. As I carry to the counter an armload of veggies and meat with which to craft a wholesome meal, I think about nourishment. Do I have a good balance of colorful veggies and pale starches? Which seasonings should I combine for the most flavorful evening nourishment?
And Lord, as I join the billion mothers in the world who are caring for their families the best they know how, I think of how we reflect Your caring heart for Your children. Lord, thank You for Your delight in caring for my heart, soul and body's nourishment. I need Your care; help my care for my family to reflect Your care for us!
It's 2pm. Dishes wait calmly in a heap on the counter, grimy faces stoically waiting for a nice scrub. I stand at the sink, acknowledging their presence with a sweeping glance, then turn on the hot water and get to work. Rub-a-dub-dub. Wet hands mix with soap suds and bits of leftover food, and as I scrub, the heap on the right slowly moves to a heap on the left. My heart lifts heavenward as shimmering clean plate-faces and cup-grins leaning on each other's shoulders as they wait to dry. A homemade sort of song ascends to my Father...
It's nap time. Unlike her mama, who has grown old enough to enjoy having naps, little Girlie is restless. The bookshelf filled with interesting books is calling. The notebook and pen, the baby doll, the ball. But I am not to be deceived. I know the tired signs that my daughter tries to hide (just like I tried years ago). Gently yet firmly, I hold her still beside me, singing songs of peace and rest over her and praying prayers of blessing, hoping that soon she will allow sleep to overtake her tired little self. And I am reminded of my own Eternal Parent, the One who gave me the breath of life, the One who has looked after me since ever I was. He, too, sometimes has needed to hold me firmly when I tried to trick myself into believing that I needed something that I really didn't. He knew that my pursuit of what I thought I needed would shrivel good things in my life, so He held me tight...until I relaxed, and enjoyed His presence, and found rest for my soul.
Lord, help me to relax quickly when You hold me tight, enjoying the embrace rather than resenting the confines of Your arms.
"She's crying, and I don't know why, and she won't stop." Jonathan ever so kindly stops his work for a minute to video call for 45 seconds with our little girl. I watch in anticipation, as the tears exchange places with a grin as she sees the mile-wide-smile of her loving daddy. I marvel at the connection between a girl and her father, and how just one look and sentence of gentle, cheery words has the power to change her little outlook from unutterably miserable to sunshiny.
Father in Heaven, I need a look into Your face! I know I can't see You face to face for real at the moment...but could I at least "see through a glass darkly"? You are good, and You are not overwhelmed at the woes of this old world. I can hardly wait sometimes for the day when You will make all things new. Until then, please, Heavenly Daddy, can You give me glimpses into Your face so I can know that everything will be OK in the End?
Amen.
