Sweet Morning

This morning I woke up at six so I could spend time with the Lord.  So I sat on my couch with my laptop which has the Beth Moore study that I am doing and next to that is my bag which contains my Bible, journals, and the book to go along with the study.  I had all of that ready to go, but instead of jumping into the Bible study I had a longing to sit and enjoy just being in the presence of God in the early quiet hours of the morning.  Well, Callie Bug has not yet discovered how wonderful sleep can be and she was wide awake with me this morning.

All morning long, every time I put her down she cried.  She wanted to be attached to me.  One year old babies have a tendency to be completely self absorbed and are so unaware of the big world that is beyond what they can see.  No matter how self absorbed any baby is, that precious child still has a longing to be with her mother or father and this morning and Callie is perfectly happy just sitting on my lap.  She is not playing with any toys.  She is not asleep.  She is just sitting on my lap soaking up the close bond that she and I share.

I think when Jesus taught about child-like faith, this is one aspect of what he was talking about.  We should long for time with God just as a baby longs to just be near to her mother and hold her close.  He wants a relationship with us more than anything else.  Bible studies are wonderful and I really can hardly wait to find out what wisdom Beth Moore will share when I watch the DVD that is waiting in my computer's disc drive.  But if I put all of my attention on that study and neglect the relationship with my Papa then what good is a Bible study?  If I feed my baby, change her diaper, bathe her and take care of all of her basic needs then I am an OK parent.  But if I neglect spending time with her, holding her, cuddling, singing, playing peek-a-boo, then I am missing out on such a special aspect of our relationship.

With God it is the same.  There is so much more to God than all of the "hard work" of studying His word,  attending church, and bible studies (not really hard but just to make a point). These things are necessary to grow as a believer in Christ, but a relationship is what God desires.  Our Papa longs for those sweet moments when we raise our arms up and ask Him to pull us up on his lap and enjoy just being near Him.  Those are the moments that heal our wounds.  More than any Bible study can. Don't get me wrong, studying God's word definitely can heal wounds and I have verses that I cling to that bring new life to me.  But nothing can replace time with the Father.  Just being in his presence gives me so much hope and joy and a renewed energy.  That is when He picks up the pieces of my broken heart and carefully mends them back together.