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Written by Therese Martin, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Washington
My great-granddaughter Ava had been spending the day with “the Nanapapa”. That’s her name for us; not “Nana and Papa”, oh no! We are The Nanapapa, a sort of combined source of hugs and treats and vanilla ice cream. The day was over, and her daddy came to pick her up after work.
“Daddy!” she squealed, running full speed into his legs and wrapping her arms around his knees. He didn’t fall over; he just reached down and picked her up in a loving embrace. She started telling him about her day, and asking if they could stop at her favorite fast-food place on the way home. She was a happy little girl!
I started to wonder; as daughters of God, are we as excited about our Father in heaven as Ava was about her daddy? Spiritually speaking, how often do we do that? How often do we run excitedly towards God, our loving Father, our Abba…our Daddy? How often do we fling our arms around His knees and let Him know we’re so glad to be with him? To be able to bring Him our problems and just say how much we love Him?
As we age, our lives change. We aren’t little girls any more. We are young women, then new brides, then mothers, then busy women juggling full time work, school age children, and maybe caring for our parents. We’re so busy! Then we are older, with all the physical pain that sometimes brings, and often emotional pain as well. We can’t even imagine running!
When we think of ourselves as daughters of God, we forget that he is God of time and space as well as heaven and earth. When we talk to Him, it’s with all the burdens of our present, serious, grown-up selves. It’s the 40, or 50, or even 70-year-old self that comes to talk to her Father, not the four-year-old!
But to God, we are still the four-year-old! Fifty or sixty years was just a second ago. He doesn’t see the wrinkles or sagging skin. That’s just the outfit we are wearing at the moment. He sees the shiny new soul He just made a second ago. To Him, we are His precious little girl. He’s a very proud, excited father who loves to talk with us at every opportunity.
Let’s look at the Easy Reader’s Version of the New Testament for a simplified rendering of that important lesson from Jesus:
““And when you pray, don’t be like the people who don’t know God. They say the same things again and again. They think that if they say it enough, their god will hear them. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come— that what you want will be done here on earth, the same as in heaven. Give us the food we need for today. Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us. Don’t let us be tempted, but save us from the Evil One.’” (Matthew 6:6-13 ERV)
We have turned that simple process into a rote, memorized formula. What if we look at those principles of prayer from the perspective of a little girl who really loves her Daddy? What might it sound like? It wouldn’t be formal or serious, that’s for sure.
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! There you are! I missed you so much! I love you because you’re so awesome! I wish you were with me all the time so everyone could see you! I wish everyone loved you the way I do! I wish it so much!
Hey, can we get some fries on the way home? I’m really hungry. I want fries every day! Can we have fries every day? Pleeease? Oh, sorry, Daddy, did I step on your foot? I am so sorry I hurted you and gave you an owie, but I love how you always forgive me. I should do that for other people too, huh? Even when I gots an owie? Okay, Daddy, I’ll try. Oh, look, I almost stepped in that hole! Thank you, Daddy, for lifting me up so I didn’t fall. You always take good care of me. You are so wonderful and I love you so much! You’re the bestest daddy forever and ever!”
As we get caught up in the hassles of daily life, the demands on our time, family responsibilities, all the blocks and burdens of normal existence, do we forget who we really, really are? Don’t ever forget you’re Daddy’s little girl, who loves Him so very much and can’t wait till it’s time to go home for reals.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #childofGod #OurHeavenlyFather #Daddysgirl #guestwriter #blog
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Written by Kat Bittner, volunteer and Board Member with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colorado
Waiting is hard. It can be one of the most unwelcomed and unpleasant aspects of life through which we have to muddle. And if you’re like me, prone to being impatient and annoyed, waiting can also be the most grueling test of our faith. Fortunately, it can also be the most rewarding faith builder because waiting perfects us and makes us complete (James 1:3-4).
When I look back on the times I was waiting on God in my own life, I see how very antsy I was. For instance, I couldn’t wait to grow up. I couldn’t wait to get married. I couldn’t wait to have children. I couldn’t wait to travel and see the world. Many times, I tried to intermediate God’s timing for my life and do things on my own. I entered relationships that were unholy. I forged friendships that damaged my spiritual state of mind. I went places and did things that weren’t indicative of a child of God. All this was done to expedite when and how I wanted the course of my life to unfold. I was much like Sarah taking matters into her own hand when she couldn’t bear a child (Gen. 15). And much like Sarah, my interference with God’s timing for my life didn’t exactly pan out for the best. I spent many years making choices in my life which were intended to hinder the wait. And they all led to heartbreak, negative consequences and a lot of sin.
I’ve come to understand through all of this that waiting on God requires a great amount of trust. We must trust that God is actively working in and through our lives to mold us into what He has designed. “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand” (Is. 64:8, NLT). We must trust that God’s judgement is never clouded by selfish motives. We must trust that God’s perspective isn’t narrowed by human desires. And we must trust that God’s timing is consummate because He is the creator of time. (Heb. 11:3). God works in us in His time because it is His plan, not ours. And we need to submit to God’s authority over all aspects of our life because of His supremacy.
“Surely you have things all turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; for shall the thing made say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me.’? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” (Is. 29:16, NKJV)
The times I chose to make things happen in my life in my own time and by my own hand have always resulted in futility. But when I choose to surrender to God’s plan and trust in God’s timing, I’ve reaped only the best for my life. God’s timing gave me the man He specifically designed to be my husband and through that timing I have been blessed to share life with him for the past 32 years. God’s timing gave me four particularly created individuals to mother. With that timing I have experienced a most profound love and derived the subsequent joys of being Grammy! Finally, God’s timing brought our family to Colorado. And with that timing I have been blessed to work at a wonderful ministry helping families thrive in Christ. And I have been blessed to be a part of a church family that has given me strong and enduring friendships. Again, all of this was a result of God’s timing in my life. And my waiting on God.
God’s timing is an incredible thing. It is of great quality. It is significant. It is honest. It is timely and opportune. It is indeed perfect! We need only be patient to reap the blessings from waiting on God because God also waits on us. He waits on us to hear our praise, our confession, our thanksgiving and to be honored. When we wait on God and He on us, and when we enter a mutual relationship with Him, God treats us like we are the only one. “…. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it” (Rev. 2:17, NLT). This is the special attentiveness that God gives to us. So, we need to trust in our waiting on God.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #waiting #Godstiming #guestwriter #blog