The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He
will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but
will rejoice over you with singing.
- Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
At 57 years old, I never thought I would have an interest in
dinosaurs, Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Paw Patrol or SuperKitties.
Then my world exploded with two absolutely adorable grandchildren. Suddenly, things I probably wouldn't have given a second thought became important. I find myself teaching a little girl to sew and doing crafty things simply because they make her happy. We watch cartoons on the big screen outside. I buy dresses for Grandpa-granddaughter dates. We're teaching both of them to ride dirt bikes and four-wheelers. There are swimming lessons and magnetic-tile garages to build. Dinosaurs get hauled around in toy trucks, and sometimes the day ends with a snuggly kiddo beside me watching something quiet while I attempt to convince him that going to sleep is actually a good idea.
Somewhere along the way, our world changed.
We still have all the adult things. There are jobs and bills and groceries and laundry and responsibilities. But now, when we're deciding what to do, there's another question:
Can we involve the grandkids?
And suddenly I'm interested in dinosaurs. Not because I've developed a lifelong fascination with the Tyrannosaurus rex.I care about dinosaurs because someone I love cares about dinosaurs. I care about pink bows and crafts and cartoons and little dirt bikes because the people I love light up when we're doing those things together.
And I think sometimes we underestimate how much God delights in us that way. We know God loves us. We say it all the time. But do we ever stop to think that God enjoys us?
Zephaniah tells us that God delights in His people and rejoices over them.
That's different from imagining a distant God who watches from heaven and occasionally intervenes when something is important enough to get His attention. He's our Father, and what matters to His children matters to Him.
That doesn't mean God gives us everything we want. And it doesn't mean every little desire we have is part of some enormous divine plan. It means relationship changes the importance of the conversation.
When my grandson tells me something about a dinosaur, I listen. The dinosaur isn't what makes the conversation important. He is. When my granddaughter wants to show me something she's made, I want to see it. The craft isn't precious to me because of what it's worth. She is.
Maybe we sometimes decide that something is too small to bring to God. Surely God has more important things to worry about. Of course there are enormous things happening in this world. But an infinite God doesn't have to ration His attention.
So tell Him. Tell Him what made you happy today, what you're worried about, about the thing you're excited about that nobody else seems to understand, about the disappointment that seems too insignificant to bother anyone with. Bring Him the big things, the little things, the dinosaurs and the pink bows.
Because sometimes what matters most isn't the thing we're talking about. It's the relationship between the One listening and the child doing the talking. And you are His child.
#dailybreadbykitty
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
- Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
Then my world exploded with two absolutely adorable grandchildren. Suddenly, things I probably wouldn't have given a second thought became important. I find myself teaching a little girl to sew and doing crafty things simply because they make her happy. We watch cartoons on the big screen outside. I buy dresses for Grandpa-granddaughter dates. We're teaching both of them to ride dirt bikes and four-wheelers. There are swimming lessons and magnetic-tile garages to build. Dinosaurs get hauled around in toy trucks, and sometimes the day ends with a snuggly kiddo beside me watching something quiet while I attempt to convince him that going to sleep is actually a good idea.
Somewhere along the way, our world changed.
We still have all the adult things. There are jobs and bills and groceries and laundry and responsibilities. But now, when we're deciding what to do, there's another question:
Can we involve the grandkids?
And suddenly I'm interested in dinosaurs. Not because I've developed a lifelong fascination with the Tyrannosaurus rex.I care about dinosaurs because someone I love cares about dinosaurs. I care about pink bows and crafts and cartoons and little dirt bikes because the people I love light up when we're doing those things together.
And I think sometimes we underestimate how much God delights in us that way. We know God loves us. We say it all the time. But do we ever stop to think that God enjoys us?
Zephaniah tells us that God delights in His people and rejoices over them.
That's different from imagining a distant God who watches from heaven and occasionally intervenes when something is important enough to get His attention. He's our Father, and what matters to His children matters to Him.
That doesn't mean God gives us everything we want. And it doesn't mean every little desire we have is part of some enormous divine plan. It means relationship changes the importance of the conversation.
When my grandson tells me something about a dinosaur, I listen. The dinosaur isn't what makes the conversation important. He is. When my granddaughter wants to show me something she's made, I want to see it. The craft isn't precious to me because of what it's worth. She is.
Maybe we sometimes decide that something is too small to bring to God. Surely God has more important things to worry about. Of course there are enormous things happening in this world. But an infinite God doesn't have to ration His attention.
So tell Him. Tell Him what made you happy today, what you're worried about, about the thing you're excited about that nobody else seems to understand, about the disappointment that seems too insignificant to bother anyone with. Bring Him the big things, the little things, the dinosaurs and the pink bows.
Because sometimes what matters most isn't the thing we're talking about. It's the relationship between the One listening and the child doing the talking. And you are His child.
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
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