Good morning family, friends and world. There is something I’d like to share with you today. I’ve been up since about 3:30 am with leg cramps and tendons down my shins pulling; couldn’t sleep. This morning God shared with me a very poignant reminder of his love for me and another example of what He meant when He said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, . . .” Genesis 1:26.
Some of our children live very near us; some live 16 hours or more away and we long to hear from them and especially our grandchildren (although I don’t think they realize how much). We long to know how their day has gone, what new and exciting or boring thing they are experiencing, what their hopes and dreams are; we used to know when they were babies and very young. As they grew older and busier with the things and people that occupy their lives, they found little time to talk and visit with us. Oh, they know we are always here for them to love on them, listen to their problems and frustrations and share stories of their ancestors and our lives (when they wanted to know more about them), forgive them when they break our hearts, but that sweet innocence of childlike love is crowded out by the daily grind of their worlds. They somehow think we can’t understand what they are dealing with or that we will be too judgmental of their actions; forgetting we no longer live under “the law”, but now live under God’s grace and while we may not like the choices they make or behaviors they exhibit . . . we love them unconditionally.
Are you beginning to get the message He whispered in my ear this morning? In the midst of my tears and questions . . .
“Why don’t they call me more often, why don’t they know what I’m feeling. How I miss the sound of their voices and feeling more included in their life. Don’t they know how much I love them? Even those who live very near to us are too busy to check in or ask us to pray about a burden they carry alone; some do better than others but mostly they are busy trying to be in control.”
. . . I heard my Abba Father say, “Now you know better how I feel when you don’t spend time with me. Come let me hold you close and take some rest, while I carry that burden for you my child. You have so much more to learn about me and I long to show you.”
. . . And I wept softly and said, “thank you Father. I love you too.”
Do you hear his voice?
How timely! I have been receiving silence from God lately. I have thought maybe the way I feel is the way he feels when I am too busy. I have no close blood family at all. Mine has been water. My heart is open for his voice, and I am waiting. This post gave me tears. Bless you!
Natalie, I wanted to reply earlier today but was interrupted by the phone and had to leave. It has been on my heart, since I read this to say that you do have close blood family because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and I’m glad to be your sister in the family of God. My prayer tonight is that you hear his voice clearly and feel his nearness as you sleep. God Bless you!
Its so funny you bring this up because we have the exact same feelings about our 8 grandchildren. The phone calls we get seem to be out of obligation. So sad. And I know I did the same thing when I was in my 20’s and 30’s. It breaks my heart and it really breaks my husbands heart, but we tell them we love them and when we do get our few minutes with them, we make them the best possible. And I thank God everyday for all my family. My family!!
Hi Tammy, thanks for your comment. Yes, I too thank God for my family and the closer I get to the end of my life, the more urgent it seems to nurture and hold those relationships close.
Wow. wow… This was insightful. Thanks for sharing! I want to grow up daily with God. You left this blogger speechless and that takes a lot!
Thank you Jill. A friend of mine calls those moments “God Kisses”, guess I sort of felt like that today.
I love your perspective. I had never thought about my grandparents possibly wondering the same things you did this morning. We are very close but I’m still sure they would love to hear from us more often.
Rebekah, I believe you are quite right. We never get enough opportunities to see your faces and hear your voices. Thank you for commenting!