Love You Father
This is something I wrote back when my daughter Nia was still in college, but it still applies today.
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“Mommy?!” Nia shrieks when I answer the phone. Even though my baby girl is now a Junior in college, miles away, we talk nearly every day and still, she greets me as if she’s been longing to hear my voice.
Although I do make every effort to ask her first about her day, many times she beats me to it. And if it’s been a rough day, I quickly start to rattle off my woes, and sometimes even surmise my own solutions, before she can get a word in edgewise. Yet, she listens so patiently.
(Nia and me on a trip to Memphis, Tennessee during her college years)
At some point in the conversation, I do remember that she is the daughter and I am the parent. That she is the one going through a day full of new experiences and maybe needs to rattle off her woes. So I lovingly turn my attention to her, all the while silently thanking God for having such a caring daughter.
I wonder how God must feel since I know I don’t greet Him that way. Often, I go to him complaining about something, or begging him to intervene in a troubling situation. Yet do I stop first, like Nia, to lovingly and excitedly greet Him? Do I even stop to wonder what kind of day He must have had dealing with all the needs of the universe–healing the sick, comforting the grieving, blessing people’s socks off, not to mention sharing His love with the whole world? Talk about a full day! My feeble life pales in comparison.
Maybe I should try it Nia’s way.
“Abba Father. How are You? What things did you see in this world today that made you sad? Did anyone make you laugh? Is there anything I can do today to help show Your love to others?”
And instead of me automatically rattling off what I want, I would listen for His answers. And if He instructs me to do anything, I do it. But ultimately, maybe He just appreciates that I ask and that I listen, like I appreciate Nia when she does that for me.
One more thing about my conversations with Nia. No matter how many times she talks to me in a given day, every conversation ends with “Love you, Mommy!” and in turn I say, “I love you too Nia!”
So let me end every conversation with God by saying “Love You, Father!” And let me be comforted in knowing that He gently responds, “I love you too, my child!”
