Father lessons (thanks, Ann!)

It's amazing how being a parent has taught me so many lessons about God himself, and the kind of Father he is to me. I grew up with an amazing dad, but that said, I still didn't imagine God in the same way. I guess it's because I had such a wonderful father, I held God at arm's length and told him, "It's cool, I've got my own dad." But watching Nate with Milo has taught me lessons I never could have imagined.

Ann asked me the other day whether God tests people before he blesses them. I had to think about it for a while before I answered, because sometimes it feels that way, right? Like we're being tested to see if we measure up before he will give us what we want?

Well picture God as a loving Father above all else. I can't imagine a good dad testing his child over something he's never learned, right? I mean, imagine  Nate standing Milo up and then letting go, just to test whether he can stand. That's crazy (and horrible), right? No good father would do that! God won't test us over something just to be cruel, or to see if we're "good enough" for a blessing. If he's testing us over something, it's to see whether we've gotten a lesson he's been teaching us for a loooooong time, and it will be a test that we're well-prepared for, one he expects us to ace.

Sometimes it's hard for us to picture how an invisible Father would treat us, especially if we didn't have a great earthly father. I'm learning to use an example I do have, like the immeasurable love Nate and I have for Milo, to try to picture how God might behave toward me. I am like God's sweet little Milo. He wants to care for me, hold me, give me only good things... He can't wait for me to get up in the morning, or to see me smile. He dotes on me, brags about me, hates to discipline me but knows that it's completely necessary... And most importantly, he just wants to spend time with me. He wants to spend literally every second with me.

It goes the same for you, too. That's the cool thing. I'm not any more special to him than you are. He loves each one of his special, amazing, individually created children exactly the same.

But I'm sorry to say, you're nowhere near as cute as Milo. Just take it in stride, and have a great day.