James 4:8 - Draw near to God and He will draw near to you...
How often to you take the time to get up close...to really lean in and appreciate something with eyes wide open? How often to you talk to someone, face to face, and really listen, really examine their facial expressions, really focus on what they are saying without thinking about your next statement? How often do you just stop...stop whatever you are doing to take a deep breath and just appreciate the moment? To me, these moments I am able to stop all the chatter, the demands, the urgent things to be attended to and just meditate on God, these are the times when I feel truly alive.
My dear Eva has taught me a lot about noticing the small things. She is so immersed in the world of bugs and butterflies every summer and spends hours a day chasing after them with her net and bug cage to catch, observe and release them again. I love the way there is no bug too small or too hard to catch for her to go after it. Her enthusiasm to share with others about everything she finds is contagious. She is able to get even the most timid kids to hold wiggly beetles and gentle moths within minutes. And once you take that plunge, to enter into the world of nature, to appreciate something you may never have noticed before, you are changed... Perhaps you won't be a bug enthusiast like Eva, but you start to notice things a little more when you see them.
Let God draw near to you...it is a choice you have to make first. How crazy is it that that's how it even works. God doesn't force Himself on You like some demanding dictator. He's given each one of us a choice. He gives us so much beauty, so much order and intricacy in Creation, and in this we can start to get a glimpse of how much He truly cares about us? Have you ever stopped to wonder why He created so many different kinds of birds, butterflies, flowers and trees. Why is the grass green and the sky blue? Why all the color and texture and vibrancy that surrounds us. It could have been so very different....
A relationship with God seems untenable to many...it starts small, basic, simple. But as you begin to know Him better, to know His character, His mercy, the depth of His love for you, your eyes are truly opened. You begin to appreciate everything more. You begin to have a whole new outlook on the meaning of each new day. If the God Who made all of this gave me life and wanted me to wake up this morning, what does He have in store for me? What is His will and His plan for me?
But will we take the time to draw near? To ask Him these questions? To wait for an answer? That is the beauty and the heartbreak in it all. Many of us, even those who acknowledge Him, don't give Him the time to even show us. We jump right into our days with both feet, head down and following after our own agenda...missing out on the detours, the moments of joy, the opportunities to touch another's life, or to be touched by another, all along the way.
Draw near....and He will draw near...
So simple. So straightforward. So true.
Draw near...stop...listen...and learn to see the Father in a whole new way today.
