Sunday, May 18, 2008

No, I Love YOU To The Sun!

So, although I'm not exactly sure how it started one of my favorite things my daughter and I do at various times during the day and specifically during bedtime preparation is a silly "I love you" game.  If I were to script it here's what it would look like:

Daddy: "I love you"
Caitlyn: "I love YOU"
Daddy: "I love you too"
Caitlyn: "I love you to the moon"
Daddy: "I love you forever"
Caitlyn: "I love you to always"
Caitlyn: "I love you to the sun"
Daddy: "no, I love YOU to the sun"
Caitlyn: "no, I love YOU to the sun"  (and we go on five or six times like this most of the time)

So now you are thinking....why in the world are you telling me this?

Two reasons.  Number one, I just love that we do that all the time (as any daddy would).  But secondly, for some reason tonight after she crawled off my lap to go to bed it hit me.  Have you ever stopped to notice how much of our relationship with Christ is demonstrated in how we are with our kids?  I've always heard it, and have had small moments here and there of semi consciousness to that fact.  But, tonight was different.  Tonight I wondered what my life would look like if I treated my relationship with Christ in reverse of the way that I live out my life as a father (or in this case a daddy).  If through the way I live and pray and worship I truly saw myself crawling up in the lap of my daddy and having a "no, I love YOU to the sun" conversation with him.  I'm not normally this kind of guy.  I don't get incredibly mushy about seeing an almighty God as my daddy, which is a fault of mine.  Although it is correct to see God the way I do most of the time as high and lifted up, Savior, Redeemer, Almighty, Holy....etc.  I am at a place that I am realizing that I limit God when I think that way.  Hard to believe right?  Limit God by calling him almighty?  No.  I mean limit him by not allowing him to daddy me and tell me he loves me when I should.  

It's my perception that women are generally better at this than men.  What I mean is that men are raised to be....well....manly.  I'm not saying we don't need a daddy, I'm just saying that women tend to long for and need the "I love you" and tender side of daddy more than men do.  Where men see strong, all knowing, cool, coach, fishing buddy dad.....women see loving, tender, big lap to sit in, protector daddy.  

So what am I trying to say.  Nothing really, other than realizing that I have a shortcoming I need to work on as a man and understand that God wants this kind of a relationship with me as well to round out the rest of our relationship, and I need to be willing to allow him to be that way and be willing to love him back that way.  Mushy?  Absolutely not!  The truth is that God IS this way whether I accept it or not.  I don't want to miss out on any avenue of my relationship with him, so I want to fix it.  So, remind yourself this week at some point to have a "No, I love YOU to the sun" talk with the creator of the universe.....because he wants to have that talk with you.

Thanks for listening.....
 

4 comments:

ChrissyK said...

Well said! It is hard to wrap our finite minds around an infinite God. And just when we think we have him figured out...surprise!...we dont and we realize there is a WHOLE nother billion sides to get to know. Love you baby!

Marlers said...

So precious!

Lacey said...

Your wife is right- you are a great writer. So fun to have another blog to read!!

Lacey said...

Congrats on the ordination today! I am sooo sorry we missed it. Franks mom was admitted to the hospital this morning (she is fine) and then Ellie had her ballet rehearsal this afternoon and performance tonight at the woodlands pavillion. Hope it was a great day and all went well. Congrats and again- sorry we missed it.