Do you know the joy of seeing the happy smile of your child as they hand you a picture that they drew that you can't make heads or tails out of but cherish anyway just because they made it for you? Have you ever experienced the warm feeling of a hug from your little angel, hearing them whisper "I love you mommy" as they plant a big, wet, sloppy kiss on your cheek?
How many of us would rebuff them for their small tokens of love that come from the outpouring of their heart? Would you? Would you tell them that the picture isn't good enough or that they have "messed up (your) makeup"? How many of us would purposely wipe the smile from our child's face because their efforts weren't "good enough"?
I would hope that none of us would. Every outpouring of our child's heart to us in an effort to show us how much they love us is precious and perfect, it is meaningful in their sincerity. Those efforts are to be cherished, to be tucked away in our memories to reflect on and remember as our children grow older and move away from such expressions of love.
My daughter, out of the blue, will tell God how much she loves him. I hear her say in her sweet little voice in the back seat while we're driving, while she's playing, while she's taking a bath, when she's almost sleeping. . ."I love you God!" She says it whenever and wherever she feels like it and she doesn't care who hears her.
How often do we show our love, our expressions of thankfulness and joy to the One who gave us all of the good gifts around us and in our lives? If we do say it, do we look around first to see if anyone is listening or watching us? Do we give thanks to God in private only? How often have you stopped to thank God for the beautiful sunset on the way home after a stress-filled day or for the much needed rain after a draught? How many of us even notice the sunset or are thankful for the rain? How many of us thank God for an answered prayer – or do we take it for granted?
How often does God hear us thank Him for the blessings in our life? What percentage of our day do we spend in honor to God in thanksgiving for everything that He has given us? 10% of our day is 2.4 hours. Do we, at best, give God even 1% of our day? 2.4 minutes of our time? How much time is it worth to thank our Creator for all that He has done for us and has given us? How much do you think He wants from us? How much does He deserve?
Just like we would never turn away the expressions of love from our children, God would never turn away our expressions of love to Him. Instead, just like us, He cherishes each one. Unfortunately, we probably express our gratitude and love to Him much less than our children express their love to us.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
P.S. - is anyone on MySpace? I just started on MySpace a couple of weeks ago. A lot of the guys in Dan's unit use MySpace and so I signed up to post comments to them to encourage them and communicate with them. If you want to hop on my "friend network" you can view my profile HERE.
11 comments:
Those questions... good ones to think about. I know I need to do more time with God.. and I know I suffer b/c of it.
Thanks for your insights
ohhhhh ... i loved those wet, sloppy kisses!!!!! ahhhhh ... those days are long gone, but their memory is ever present :)
That's so neat how your daughter tells God she loves Him like that. It's very humbling for me to realize I don't express my love to Him that way--and maybe I should. Thanks for posting.
Camy
out of the mouths of babes...Thanks for the reminder and hug your daughter and thank her too!
What a beautiful picture you just painted with words! I can hear your daughter's sweet voice!
Thank you for your thoughts.
Sunydazy
And THAT is the question: "How often do we show our love, our expressions of thankfulness and joy to the One who gave us all of the good gifts around us and in our lives?"
I am exploring this further this week... thinking, praying, *changing*.... Thank you...
All is grace,
Ann V.
Don't children teach us so much about God? They show us the simpilistic truth, that we bog ourselves down with. Thank you for sharing.
What a wonderful way to thank God for the little things in life! Instead of just recognizing beauty, taking a moment to thank God for it. Thanks for a wonderful post!
You are right. I think that we can learn a lot from your children when it comes thanking God. We sometimes rush through life without a second thought about our surroundings. We should stop more often to take notice and than Him for what He has done.
I think we often extend kindness to our children forgetting that we are also children, children of God. What a wonderful post! You hit the nail on the head!
A really encouraging post there, Nic!
Post a Comment