Undoctrinated Daughter

. . . pray continually . . . -1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray continually, or in this case, talk continually. The eldest was at it with her (as the middle child would call it) “yapping” and it was ceaseless: Yakety yak . . .

The blog has been quiet as we have tried to play the catch up game with the family and the month of February. I got to celebrate an anniversary with the bearded beauty, the God of the universe allowed me another year to stand in awe of His creation and the beautiful gifts He has provided me through the friends and family around us (including Oakmont Bakery – I am SO grateful for the gift of baking that happens there), and February was crazy with retreats, and sports, and even a broken arm. Whew. . .

And then something special happened this week. I have been praying for a couple weeks for God to give me words for the blog and to share His love, and I kept coming up, well, wordless.

And then, this week, the eldest had this moment where she was just, well, wordFULL, and would NOT stop sharing her words during the entire car ride home from school, at the store, walking into the post office, parking into the garage, walking up the sidewalk, washing the dishes, and then continued upon the arrival of the bearded beauty, following him into the living room yakety yacking all the way. I stood in the dining room and giggled knowing that she just talked more in 2 hours than maybe her entire life span (kidding – but in this teenage season, it sure does feel like that some days). I beamed. Without looking at the hubs, I knew he was beaming too. In the raising kids – running every where – sports and activities – and drive, drive, driving of life, it was nice to just listen to my daughter share and over share her life. We (even the middle child) enjoyed it. And we just listened. And laughed.

As I walked back to the kitchen to finish the dishes, God hit me with how much He just loves to listen to His children. And then I beamed even more. We are so blessed to have a Father who just loves to listen. He is not rushed. He is not pushing us to finish our sentences so He can move on to the next task. He doesn’t interject His opinions until we are ready to listen to Him. He doesn’t check His phone or look at the time impatiently as we talk to Him. He just listens. And then He waits until the next moment when we yakety yak His ear off and beams of the love He has for us – His children. And then after all the yakety yak, sometimes He just picks us up, dusts us off, and sends us on our way, or He speaks, He guides, and gives just the right amount of wisdom at that very moment for us to live and speak and love. He fills our cups.

I didn’t realize it then, but I realize it now, we gave our eldest the exact love and communication our Father gives us. We let her speak. We listened. We hugged. We sent her on her way with a cup filled of love and grace with hopes that her cup spills over to others (and that she “yaps” our ears off again – soon).

Ring. Ring. Hello? This is your Father. Come, sit, and speak. I’m listening.

Friends, when was the last time you answered the call to go, sit, and speak to your Father. He’s waiting. He’s listening. And He’ll always give you His very best.

XOXO, Loni