Sunday. It's the only day of the week that I actually enjoy waking up for, I cherish sleep entirely too much. I love waking up on Sunday mornings, the anticipation for what my day will bring is incomparable to any other day of the week for me. Starting with Brookside and being with my church family, embracing the glory of our Lord with community, and all that experience brings. I love not having any time obligations, and just enjoying the sabbath for what it is meant to be. Sundays guarantee at least one meal with friends. I just like everything about Sundays.
So today, I had the opportunity to do all of those things, and it was just so rich. I also took some time to do some productive studying/reading at Panera while enjoying a nice cup of Hazelnut coffee... love that stuff. While I was there, I couldn't resist... I took the opportunity to people watch, I know, typical. I love it though. Let me tell you today, was no let down either. One observation stuck with me all day today, a young girl eating lunch with her father. I'm going to assume that she was probably about six years old, and she was eating soup in a bread bowl. When her dad set the plate down in front of her, she picked up the bread bowl and attempted to lick the side where some of the soup spilled over the edge. As she was tilting the side of the bowl up, the scene played out in slow motion... she kept tilting the bowl up, the soup swam to the side, and then just like Niagra, the falls came.... Cheddar Broccoli soup gushed all over the table, and kept flowing... and flowing. By the time her dad had noticed what happened, all of the soup had spilt from the bread bowl and onto the table. I held my breath...
I remember when I was younger, I was the clumsiest child ever (some things never change), and it was a daily routine that I would reach for something on the table, and my milk glass would tumble and spill all over the main course, or into my mother's lap, or right onto the floor. I remember the look on my dad's face every time that happened... exhaustion and frustration, his lips would flatten, eyes would tighten and that's when I knew.... become as small as you possibly could, because you were in trouble... big trouble.
When this young girl's father saw what happened, he looked at the mess, and looked at her with a blank expression... she was on the verge of tears behind her thick purple rimmed glasses, her cheeks were beginning to pink. Without a second thought, her father placed his hand on arm and smiled. With no words, he took his napkin and wiped off her face with some soup residue that was lingering from where she had licked the side of the bread bowl. Then he said to her, "Hey little missy, don't worry your pretty little face off, I'll take care of it." and then smiled.
What a beautiful illustration of a father's love for his daughter... for the Father's love for his daughters. When we mess up, or fall short, the Lord is there wiping off our faces first, tending to our needs and caring for us first, before ever focusing His attention to the mess that we made. He cares about the well being of our hearts and souls and emotions more than anything. He's always prepared with napkin in hand to wipe off our faces, and say beautiful. Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, in His love He will no longer rebuke you, and He will rejoice over you with singing." How encouraging is it to hear that the ultimate Father views us just like that? Breathtaking.
Please do not think by the story I shared in regards to my childhood and spilling milk was how my dad always was and is.... because that would certainly be the worst impression of him. My father is just human, not God. He's actually the best dad a girl could ever ask for, sweet Lord I'm tearing up just writing this. Knowing in my heart that my father is awesome, and loves me so much, that he would do anything for me, even when I spilled milk at dinner makes it difficult for me to think that our Heavenly Father could love me more than that.... but He does.
I love learning more and more about the Father's love for me. I love that I see His love played out daily in my life and in the lives of others, including strangers at Panera. I'm looking forward to this week, and seeing how God's love shows up... and I think I owe my dad a phone call, remind him that I love him.
No comments:
Post a Comment