Did You Know?
As I write this I am at a Young Life camp called Sharp Top Cove in Georgia while my girls are back home in Tennessee. Anna had a doctor’s appointment yesterday that she was really scared about and when I finally talked to her last night it was the first time we had spoken in a couple of days. I was missing Christy and the kids so much and I was just dying to tell Anna that I love her. Christy handed Anna the phone and as soon as I heard that little voice say, “Hey Dad!” it jumped out of me… “Anna, I love you!”
I was expecting and waiting on the “I love you too.” But it didn’t come. It was like she didn’t hear me. Instead, she said, “Dad, I went to the doctor.” I said, “I know… hey honey, Did you know I love you?” and again, I got no response. Anna just jumped back into her story and said, “Daddy, I did sooo good at the doctor!” I said, “I know baby… hey, did you know I love you?” Then she said, “Dad, I was so brave at the doctor.” I told her, “I know… I heard. I know all about your doctor’s appointment and what a good girl you were. Now, can I tell you something?” “Yeah” she said. “Did you know Daddy loves you?”
By the end of that phone conversation, I had told Anna six times that I loved her and she never responded… she either didn’t hear me, wasn’t paying attention or else just felt like her story was more important. And it’s not that I wasn’t interested in her story… (one reason I called was to find out about the doctor’s appointment) it’s just that I missed her like crazy and I hadn’t seen or talked to her in two days and I was just dying to tell her that I loved her and hear her say, “I know… I love you too.”
In John 6 some people asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent” I know that in my life there are so many times that I go to the Lord just to talk to Him about all the stuff I’m doing for Him and how hard I’m trying to be brave and good when the only thing He wants to talk about is how much He loves me… He’s dying to tell me while I’m trying to impress Him and all He really wants from me is to believe in His love for me… to believe in Jesus… the living proof of the love of God. Is He trying to get through to you too? In the midst of your ramblings, could He be saying, “Hey… did you know I love you?”
As I write this I am at a Young Life camp called Sharp Top Cove in Georgia while my girls are back home in Tennessee. Anna had a doctor’s appointment yesterday that she was really scared about and when I finally talked to her last night it was the first time we had spoken in a couple of days. I was missing Christy and the kids so much and I was just dying to tell Anna that I love her. Christy handed Anna the phone and as soon as I heard that little voice say, “Hey Dad!” it jumped out of me… “Anna, I love you!”
I was expecting and waiting on the “I love you too.” But it didn’t come. It was like she didn’t hear me. Instead, she said, “Dad, I went to the doctor.” I said, “I know… hey honey, Did you know I love you?” and again, I got no response. Anna just jumped back into her story and said, “Daddy, I did sooo good at the doctor!” I said, “I know baby… hey, did you know I love you?” Then she said, “Dad, I was so brave at the doctor.” I told her, “I know… I heard. I know all about your doctor’s appointment and what a good girl you were. Now, can I tell you something?” “Yeah” she said. “Did you know Daddy loves you?”
By the end of that phone conversation, I had told Anna six times that I loved her and she never responded… she either didn’t hear me, wasn’t paying attention or else just felt like her story was more important. And it’s not that I wasn’t interested in her story… (one reason I called was to find out about the doctor’s appointment) it’s just that I missed her like crazy and I hadn’t seen or talked to her in two days and I was just dying to tell her that I loved her and hear her say, “I know… I love you too.”
In John 6 some people asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent” I know that in my life there are so many times that I go to the Lord just to talk to Him about all the stuff I’m doing for Him and how hard I’m trying to be brave and good when the only thing He wants to talk about is how much He loves me… He’s dying to tell me while I’m trying to impress Him and all He really wants from me is to believe in His love for me… to believe in Jesus… the living proof of the love of God. Is He trying to get through to you too? In the midst of your ramblings, could He be saying, “Hey… did you know I love you?”
1 comment:
That story made me cry. I don't know if it's because as a mom, you don't want your child scared of anything, or because you wanted to hear those 3 sweet words from a 3 year old, of if it was because you are such a gift to our church family to share personal stories with us that make us stop and think about how God is our Father, and how much He loves us, and wants to hear those words from us too. Whatever it was, I thank you for sharing it with me.
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