I think I may be the proud owner of the most inconsistent blog ever. I’d like to think I’m good for a blog entry once every few months, but that has even been a stretch over the past year. I could come up with my typical excuses for my slacking off but I won’t waste your time with that. Let’s just rejoice in the fact that I’m writing now.
Life has changed a bit for me recently. My wife and I welcomed our second daughter, Eden, into the world last month. I’m not going to lie, she’s pretty awesome, but the dynamics of my house have been completely turned upside down. No longer are the days of being able to pass off the baby when you need a break; my wife and I are always on duty now. Besides that, I now come home to three women everyday; the testosterone to estrogen ratio is way out of whack. Its like I live on the set of “The View“. However, my wife and I are adjusting to our very blessed, very hectic life.
To survive, my wife and I have decided to divide and conquer – She handles the infant and I focus on Maggie, our 20 month old. With our new strategy in place, the other day I thought it would be fun to take Maggie to our neighborhood park to play. There is a play ground with a swing set and ducks that we could feed. Sounds like a nice “daddy-daughter date” right? I thought so. However, Maggie thought it would be fun to run away from me and have me chase her for an hour. I don’t mind her running around. I don’t even mind chasing here…lord knows I need the exercise; but the reality of the situation was that it wasn’t safe for her to run off without me. I would try to get her to follow my lead but she obviously had her own agenda. I chased her. I called for her. I chased her some more. I even tried to bribe her with candy (I’m not proud about that last one). Nothing worked. After about 15 minutes of this I was tired and not happy.
In my frustration with my stubborn, hyperactive daughter, I experienced a moment of grace. I wondered how many times this scene reflected my relationship with my heavenly Father. How much time have I spent running away, ignoring His voice? Or how often do I get caught up in my own plans and agenda? I know for me the answer is probably more times than I’d like to admit.
That night as I was falling asleep I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John. Jesus proclaims himself as the Good Shepherd and that his sheep “follow him, for they know his voice” (Jn 10:4 NAB). I think the secret for us today is learning to hear and know God’s voice; and let’s face it, this is no easy task. Our culture tells us that we are called to get a good education, have a high paying job, put our noses to the grind until we retire and then we will have time to relax. I’m not saying these things are bad. Instead, I am asking: how are we going to be present to God in the midst of that?
My humble suggestion is that you take a minute to really evaluate how aware to God’s voice are you currently. Are you actively listening for it, or are you off doing your own thing? God has something to say. God has a plan for you.
Are we ready to listen? Because I’m pretty sure God has a lovely “Daddy-Daughter/Son” date planned and waiting for us all.
