I was chatting with a good friend of mine over lunch and I was sharing just a couple of the many things God has taught me through being a dad. Our little girl is a little over 3 months now.
1. GAZE
Ever since Hannah has been born, I love it when she looks at me. She doesn't have to come to me with a smooth speach all worked up. She can't even talk. But, when she just turns her gaze my way, even though I know so much more than she does, I don't punish her for not being able to speak. I just love it that she is doing what she can, she's just gazing at me. That's all I need. I could spend an entire day just gazing into those beautiful little eyes. God has taught me that He feels the same way. We don't have to come to God and be all polished, we need to just look up and gaze at our Father.
2. SMILE
I'm not talking about throwing a fake smile at everyone who crosses our path. Instead, my little girl has taught me the importance of delighting ourselves in God. When was the last time you let yourself go, let all the seriousness fall off of you, and just smile at your God? Look up and give Him a great grin (p.s. you don't have to look up). Hannah has progressed from just gazing at me to now looking at me and giving me a big smile. Last night she probably smiled at me about 20 times. It melts my heart like you can't believe. We don't have to memorize the whole Bible to approach our God. My little 3 month old has taught a guy who has spent 10 semesters in seminary the importance of smiling at our God. Delighting in Him.
3. REST
After gazing at me and smiling at me, my third favorite thing to do with Hannah is to have her lay on my chest and fall asleep on me. I wrap my arms around her and she is safely in the arms of her daddy. There isn't anywhere else I'd want to be in the world than to have her just resting in my arms. Resting in our God means that we are trusting in Him and not ourselves, we're letting Him take control, He's got us. Once in a while Hannah will open her eyes for just a split second, she's just checking to make sure I've still got her, then she'll go back to sleep. God's got us, it's ok, we can rest in Him, we can quit worrying, no need for anxiety.
Not performing; just gazing, smiling and resting in Him. Good lessons from a 3 month old little girl.
_
