Skip to main content

A Daddy & His Girls

I had dinner with some good friends one night this week at their house, and their precious nieces were present as well. These girls are both under the age of 5 and could not have been more fun.

After they gave me a tour of their rooms and introduced me to their stuffed animals, I had the privilege watching them interact with their daddy when he came home. They began squealing as soon as they heard his car hit the driveway, and they attacked him as he walked in the door. He, too, was excited to see his precious daughters. They clung to him for a while, and then all three of them rolled around on the floor, laughing and giggling. Then they played what I later learned is a common game at their house: chasing their dad around the house in a circle, running laps and squealing with delight.

Later, the girls put on a "show" for us, which consisted of jumping around the living room dancing wildly to Christian music. They were completely free in their dancing, swinging arms, legs, heads! They were totally unaware of how silly they looked to us adults.

I felt like God was demonstrating the concept of childlike dependence and the sweetness of relationship between Him and His daughters in very blatant ways that night as I watched the family interact so sweetly. The girls obviously had a deep love for their daddy, and they were thrilled to be in his presence. He also loved, loved, loved his girls. Then, they were totally carefree in their actions as they danced - completely unaffected by who was watching them.

I want to bask in the love of my Father the way the girls did - I want to be so excited to spend time with Him that I have a literal urge to squeal! I want to find my time with Him so valuable. I also want to live unhindered by the eyes and ears of others. I may not express it by dancing around the living room, but I want to express it by living my life in confidence of my Father who created me and sustains me. I want to make decisions and live confidently because of my Father's love, not because of anything circumstantial or temporary. Also like the girls, I want to depend on my Father for everything and not rely on my own limited knowledge or abilities.

Spending time with these girls rejuvenated me and inspired me to relax, trust, and choose to thrive because of God's love for me. I want to do what 1 John 4:16 says, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible: "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Olivia Kate Update

We expected a routine appointment. Last April, the cardiology team told us that we did not have to return for another check-up on the hole in Olivia's heart for a full year. This was music to a mom's and dad's ears! Since her pediatrician had noticed the severe murmur in her heartbeat when she was just four days old, we'd visited the cardiologist office several times to monitor any changes in heart function. So far, it seemed that this hole was not causing any problems, and the doctors said that it might even close on its own. The ultrasounds of Olivia's heart today revealed a different story, unfortunately. The left side of her heart has enlarged slightly over the last year, which tells us that this precious organ is under a bit of stress due to the turbulence of the extra blood flowing in and out of the hole. The first cardiologist who reviewed the ultrasounds with us today told us what we really did not want to hear: Olivia is heading down the path that req

What's Real

I struggle with mental illness. Like many others, I can't really define myself as falling cleanly into one category or give myself a specific diagnosis. Mine has manifested in different ways during different seasons of my life: sometimes it's anxiety, but other times it's depression, disordered eating, obsessive compulsion or a cocktail of these. Regardless, it's there, and while I experience a lot of happiness in my life, there's also some inner turmoil that I fight to keep at bay. Why am I telling you this? It's certainly not for pity or to draw attention to myself. I'm guessing that many people reading this also struggle, but others may not. For both parties, I want to take a stab at normalizing mental illness and I also want to point out a few things I've found to be true: - Mental illness is not limited to a certain stereotype. Depression doesn't just affect teenagers who prefer dark clothes and hooded jackets! It's not just the poor, ju

Not a Disappointment

I recently received some disappointing news, which led to an awesome, very deep talk with my husband. Interestingly, through this conversation, God revealed that I have been believing a significant lie: that I am a disappointment to several key people. I realized that I have been believing that I am a disappointment to my husband, co-workers, and some friends. I have been hearing lies about my weaknesses as a wife (ex: my cooking skills), my abilites at work (not good enough), and how good of a friend I am to certain people (ex: I don't reach out to them enough, I'm too focused on myself, etc.). The enemy has been working to convince me that I'm a disappointment to some of the people I hold dearest. And I haven't been making him work very hard - I've fallen for his schemes hook, line, and sinker. For a while, I've had a hard time understanding why I feel I am a self-confident person, yet I struggle with insecurities in so many areas. God showed me that it&