Is True Love Really That... Cheesy?

 

 

I would probably say that some of my favorite moments of the day take place in the early morning hours.

 

The house is quiet, the coffee is strong, and everything is peaceful. I described the morning routines in detail in the post,( "The Perfect Cup" Click Here)and I have to confess that I look forward to this time from the moment that my head hits the pillow.

 

There is one element of this morning routine that I especially guard very carefully. It is my son Clark. He has a habit of rigging little traps in the hallway that my morning eyes cannot see very well. Little toys that make noise when they are bumped seem to always find their way into the hallway in an obstacle course fashion for me to make my way around. He does this because he wants to make sure that he gets to "spend time with my old Dad" before old dad leaves for work. Old Dad? I am only 34.

 

The traps are always well placed and they get me every time. At first I tried really hard to avoid them, and now I think I try harder to set them off because it is hitting me that this guy is growing up. I know full well that there will come a day when those little traps will not make their way into strategic places anymore and somehow I think that the coffee would not taste as good if I did not have to stop drinking every two seconds to answer the deep questions of an eight year olds life at the breakfast table.

 

Last Friday morning it was a little musical puppy that caught me by surprise and in an instant he was bursting out of his bedroom with a goofy grin and a, "Ha! I got ya Dad!". You can not get mad at the guy when you see him standing there with his glasses disheveled, goofy grin, and hair sticking up everywhere. So we made our way to the table where he had Captain Crunch and I had my coffee. He then took me by surprise when he asked me, "Dad, could you go walk down the hallway for a minute, count to ten, then come back?"

 

"I guess so, but if you put something in my coffee I will make sure that you live a long and miserable life" I said as I got up and headed to the hallway. When I got back he carried on like nothing had happened and in the drive to work and daily start ups there I soon forgot my ten second walk in the hallway.

 

It was lunch time and as I got my lunch out I noticed what had happened.

 

 



 

 

A little bag of Cheese Nips. He had been waiting to slip these into my lunch bag. They were the last of his stash.

 

Now you need to understand that these crackers can be just as strong as currency with kids and the fact that they are shaped like Angry Birds makes them much more valuable than your average cheese crackers.

 

Just a little bag that spoke volumes about a big love. I sat there at my desk and I cannot even begin to tell you how special that I felt at that moment.

 

Could it be that this is how our Father feels when we willingly take the things about life that we value so much and present it to Him?

 

Clark has taught me more about the heart of God than anyone else on the planet and this, little to the world but huge to him, act of love was astounding to his father.

 

King David was referred to by God as a "Man after God's own heart" and I believe this was the case because David was a man who was after the heart of God. 

 

"Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." ~Psalms 25:1-5 

 

Our soul is our Mind, Will, and Emotions. We place extreme rights of ownership on these areas of life and are quick to tell others, "These are mine!" aren't we?

 

David was making it very clear that this was willing choice on his part to make a present to God the most valuable things that he as a creature of free will had. The message that such a present makes can be summed up in two letters, one symbol, and one word.

 

 

I have no idea what this Monday is going to throw at you. I have no idea how much of your life or mine will be altered by the events of today, but could I challenge you to take some time today to just honestly evaluate what has seemed so valuable to you and ask yourself, "Do I love Dad enough to slip this to him?"

 

Maybe it is a job? It could be a dream? It may even be a possession or a fear. For someone it could even be a hurt that has been hung on to because it seems to be the only thing we have that brings validation to us and our circumstances. I don't know. But I do know that anything we have that we consider "ours" is worth presenting to Him.

 

I do not mean we run it down to the neighborhood church or sign it away in a will to the pastor, I mean just give God the right to have it and use it if He would choose to do so.

 

When was the last time that you lifted up your soul, or anything else that you would put the word "My" in front of, to the Lord?

 

 

 

Is true love really that Cheesy?

 

If there is any part of the Father's heart that views a supreme sacrifice from the life of His children that could identify with the way that my heart felt as I looked at that Angry Bird Cheese Nip staring back at me, I would say Yes!

 

Think about it. Presenting what we value to God's use and care is choosing Him over so many other avenues that appear to us, on our plane of understanding, to make so much more sense.

 

So today I want to Zip-lock up my cares, fears, frustrations, relationships, possessions and everything else that I guard as "Mine" and slip them into the Father's lunch bag as He walks down the hallway.

 

Today, before the events unfold as they will, I want to just say;

 

"I LOVE YOU DAD"

 

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan