God our Father

I often wonder if God looks at us the same way we look at our babies. Does He smile when we speak? Does He celebrate our new growth and accomplishments by clapping and is His heart full when we smile back at Him? Does it hurt Him when He has to discipline us, knowing it's for our own good or when He has to let us "cry it out," never leaving us but knowing that He's developing the character in us He wants to see?

All of these things go through my mind as I watch our son grow and develop. We've been tackling consistent nap times lately and since he doesn't want to miss out on a single thing, he fights going to sleep. But as his mother, even though my heart hurts when he cries, I know I have to do what's best for him and force him to take naps in his crib. I can imagine our Father might feel the same way. He loves us so much that He doesn't want to see us cry or be frustrated, but He does what's best for us-even if it's painful- so that we can be molded into mature Christians.

That's ultimately what we want for Samuel. The crazy thing about being a parent is you truly die to yourself. In Christian circles you hear that phrase a lot, but you get full comprehension of what it actually means the minute your child enters your home. There is no other choice. As much as we would have loved to continue letting Samuel sleep on us for his naps because it was precious cuddle time, that wasn't in his best interest. We want him to become an independent, healthy sleeper and the quality of sleep he was getting laying on our chests wasn't great. So we started our routine of consistently laying him down for naps in his crib. The first few times were a battle because he didn't know what was going on, but now he knows exactly what's happening and quickly falls asleep.

Isn't that so true of us? We kick and scream and cry when God changes something on us or allows us to experience a trial for our good. But if we just trust Him and trust the fact that He is our loving Father and is doing what's best for us, peace and rest quickly follow.

"All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace." Isaiah 54:13

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you." Isaiah 26:3

Just some random morning thoughts. :)

Have a blessed day!

Shanna & Tim