Missing Socks and Runny Noses – Part One

I walked up the stairs from the garage into the living room after a day of counseling. I had forgotten our two and a half year old grandson was staying overnight. He was playing with his favorite toy, a train, in the living room when I topped the stairs.

“Pop” was all he squealed as he ran to me with arms open wide. I dropped to a knee, grabbed him and pulled him in tight. He gave me his version of a kiss on the cheek and I gave him another hug. “How’s my little man?” I asked. He just pointed and said “train”. We wandered over to the train; I set him down, and watched as he played with the train moving slowly around the track. What a joyous moment for me! My grandson had seen me, come running and grabbed onto me. The love I felt was overwhelming as he had simply seen me and come running. I was not a threat to him, he felt safe and welcomed by me. It truly was a deep connecting point for me.

Now you maybe thinking “how cute, you’re fortunate to experience such a moment” or “where is this blog going?” but hang on, I am going to make a point I promise. Let me fill in the details of the precious moment.

Simply put, he was messy! No pants, droopy diaper, only one sock, and of course, as all little kids seem to have, he had a runny nose. I got snot on my shirt and his sloppy attempt at a kiss got more on my cheek. Did I stop and fix any of these issues before we embraced? Of course not, I was excited to see him and he was excited to see me. I wasn’t worried at all about the snot, missing sock, or no pants. I loved that he came running and there was no hesitation.

Now let’s think God, our Father. Are we willing to come running to Him and jump up on His lap just because He’s near? I bet most of us stop first to make sure we are all fixed up to see Him. If you were honest with yourself, do you think this way?

We are worried about His response or worse His addressing our messiness. He is our Father, that’s not in question, but we hesitate when He shows up or calls our names. We freeze, take a quick assessment of ourselves and then decide how to proceed. It’s quick, a blink of an eye, but we do it, we take a momentary, mental picture of our presentability.

Ready for part two?