patriology:: entry 81

Patriology: The Doctrine of the Father.


my kid is super cute.
and it makes me want to hug her.
but the hugs have been few and far between lately.
i say
“dad needs more hugs.”
and she says
“NO-O-O-O!”
i put on a sad face,
but she doesn’t budge.
sometimes she even rubs it in
by going over and giving deanna a hug.
ouch!


i was trying to get a hug earlier today-
and she was wiggling out of my arms
and i got a thought:
“what if i took janie
to see someone she doesn’t like?”
then i’ll get lots of hugs
because she’ll cling to me
to be safe from a relative
or a friend that she doesn’t like!”


at first i thought,
“no- that wouldn’t be right-
its just that my kid is so cute!
and i adore her!
and i want to be close to her!
would i go to that kind of extreme to get a hug?”


and then i thought about my heavenly father-
does he feel the same way about me?
does he adore me?
does he want to be near me?
and have i been wiggling away?
would he go to extremes to be near me?


and so i imagined
God being in heaven saying
“ok rob-
here is some financial trouble.”
and then i run to him
and am close to him-
until its gone.


and then he says
“ok rob-
here is some relational issue.”
and i run to his side and cling to him-
and that pleases him-
and then i wiggle away
when the danger is gone.


and then he says
“ok rob-
here is a work problem.”
and i spend all sorts of time with him
just the two of us.
and that pleases him.
and then off i am again-
even though i’m small and he is big
i think i can do it without him.


and maybe when i’m in heaven
i’ll look back on all of the trials i’ve seen
and discover that God
didn’t just want to teach me things
or grow me,
he sent me through them
so that i would stop running
for him,
and from him,
and start running
to him.


maybe i should just be near him.
and recognize
i can’t do it without him.


i took a break from writing this
for my favorite time of day-
bathtime!
that’s when deanna washes janie,
and then wraps her up in a fluffy towel
and then sends her out of the bathroom.
janie yells out in her loudest voice:
“DA-DEEEEE! DA-DEEEEE!”
and then i scoop her up
and “dry her off”
with long hugs.
i laid her on her changing table
and she said
“dad
needs
more
hugs.”


dad loves hugs.


“the LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
-psalm 34:18


“come near to God and he will come near to you.”
-james 4:8