Marni, Dane and Abe
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Lord, You are goo…
That was as far as I got in my prayer journal this morning before my four year old grandson Abraham came wandering in, rubbing his eyes and looking for a lap to lay his head on. Within a few minutes two year old Dane joined us, saying: “Sit in you wap gramma.” Yes, the chaos has returned as our oldest son and family are with us for a few weeks while between houses. They have three kids now instead of two, and with my younger son who has also moved back home, our clan has gone from two to eight. Of course the challenge is in finding ways to make the chaos sacred (someone should write a book about that!)
I sure do love those little munchkins though. No matter how topsy turvy things get, I wouldn’t trade having them here for anything. Yesterday I drove home after being gone all day, hoping they hadn’t gone to bed yet so I could see them. I love my own kids dearly, but there is something unique about the way I love my kid’s kids. This seems to be universally true -- just ask any grandparent and they’ll say they feel the same.
I think I understand why. When my own boys were little I obsessed often over how they were going to turn out. If they behaved badly, even if it were normal for their age, I would imagine them acting that way as adults. I lived with a low-level anxiety and an enormous sense of responsibility to make sure the two of them grew up to be productive, God-loving citizens. If I’d had any idea what great guys they were going to turn out to be, I think I would have enjoyed the process a whole lot more.
I know now that the truth is that most kids turn out just fine; in spite of all our flawed parenting. Thus, I have absolutely no worries about my grandchildren and am able to take pleasure in every stage they go through. I am even amused at times when they misbehave, I’m sure to their parent’s chagrin.
When it comes to God’s love, I think it must be a lot like a grandparent’s. Because our heavenly father knows the end from the beginning, when He looks at you and me -- even in our worst moments -- He sees what we will be, or more accurately, who we really are as new creatures in Christ. This is not to say that He doesn’t grieve over sin, or discipline us for our own good, but the reality is that the Almighty has no anxiety about our future and never stresses about the failures or weaknesses that loom so large in our own mind. Simply put, God is fully able to enjoy you and me right where we are.
Since the beginning of this year as I’ve sought to live with a greater awareness of what brings God pleasure and how I can experience His gladness over me, I know that I am being changed at a deep level. Charles Spurgeon once said: The thought of the Lord's taking pleasure in us is a mine of joy never to be exhausted. I think I’m beginning to understand what this means. Living loved is a life-course of recognizing the hidden smile of God, of trusting that there is delight in His heart as He gazes at us, and being spurred on to serve Him with a greater passion and diligence as a result.
Our new quarter begins today, with our focus on Romans 8:31-39. My prayer is that you will grasp more and more the depths of His delight as God looks out over your life. Let Him enjoy you – in your working, your playing, your thinking, your doing, your moving, your waiting, your listening, your talking and your praying. In all your ways, pursue the pleasure of the One who made you for Himself and then receive the reward of His joy over you. This, I believe is the key to the satisfaction, obedience and fruitfulness we all long for as we seek to live in Hs love.
Tricia