delights..

Sometimes I catch myself distracted.  I have a moment where I realize I’ve been reading or watching something else while my own children play imaginatively in front of me.  In those moments, I close the book or reposition myself to be fully present as a spectator.  An invested observer in the development of imaginations that will lead to great things.

I smile, as I take note in how “play time” has changed over the years already.  Our oldest able to imagine situations, and move the pieces in the doll house with such great care.  How she flinches a grimace when she accidentally knocks over a tiny doll-house vase, but she takes a deep breath and sets it right again.  My heart is warmed as I watch our middle child in another part of the living room, sharing a toy with our youngest.  These are the things that make a father proud, and thankful that the foundation of all of this – is Christ.

It reminds me of my wife’s favorite verse.  It’s one I’d never really heard of until we were together.  A beautiful picture of God having the heart of a father:

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17

To think that these moments exist in the heart of God, multiplied by the infinite.  It definitely makes me thankful God has shared His “creative” image with us in the ability to grow families.

Unfortunately, it also means his heart is wounded infinitely more than our own when we see our children fighting.  When we know our daughters must love each other, and we see those moments where they act selfishly.  We cannot begin to imagine how God’s heart breaks when he sees his children relate the way we do to one another sometimes.

May we seek more ways to exist in loving relationships with our brothers and sisters.  May we care for our siblings who are forgotten and discarded by the world.  And may we find ourselves lost in creative expressions of worship once in a while…in a way that makes God close his book….and smile on us as we play. 🙂