Capturing His Attention

The past few days I've been exceedingly blessed. I've gotten to spend time with my grands, Kailyn and Camden. They currently live around an hour away from us, and we only get to spend time with them every 4 to six weeks. While many of you may think that is pretty good, you must understand I was used to seeing them more often than that, and them being far away has been a struggle for me.


I am fortunate in that we keep our other grands, Emma and Levi, once a week, and spending that time with them is great. So it isn't like we are starved for "grandkid time" it is just that we miss having K and C living close.


They arrived on Saturday, coming in for Game Night, something we are attempting to do with a few friends and family every 4 to 6 weeks... and they arrived in a whirlwind of activity. Along with their mommy and daddy, they came to church with us on Sunday and then Sunday afternoon, they shipped their parents back home, and they will remain with us through Wednesday afternoon.


With Michael in school, it has been fun to have some "Nanny" time with them, getting to know them all over again. They are growing so fast, and K will actually be registereing for Kindergarten tomorrow! And C... he is getting so big, talking non-stop... having 'REAL' conversation.


Yesterday, when Michael came in from school, he bounded up the stairs at break-neck speed, he was ready for some play time... and I actually thought a few minutes later he might just want some alone time as K and C both vied for his attention. They were excited for him to be home, they were ready to play, and they each had a different activity in mind for him. It was clear to see that they both felt he was their personal friend... and he should be lavishing his attention on only ONE of them... not BOTH.


I couldn't help but smile at the situation, realizing that we are a lot like that with God... we are always trying to capture his attention... to get him to listen to us... to hear what we want, what we say, to get him to be our personal savior... forgetting that he came to save us ALL... forgetting to put aside our wants and our desires long enough to pray for someone else's needs.


I think that just like Michael, God runs to be with us... he is excited about spending time with us...but I think that he wants us to understand that it isn't all about our needs, or our desires... (though he does care about those!)...but it is about what HE desires for us. I also believe that he wants us to be in prayer for those who are also in need of his attention. He wants us to plead on their behalf... to think of their needs over and above our own... and I think that when we finally get that, he will be so proud of the growth we have shown!