I was cleaning the bathrooms one day last week as I often do (okay, as I occasionally do), and Christian came in to see what I was up to. My mind was elsewhere and I gave him a quick rundown, wishing, honestly, that he’d just leave me alone. I wanted to get this done and preferably without the help of a three-year-old. But he stayed.
“What are you doing?” he asked (several times).
“Cleaning the sink.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s dirty.”
“Why are you wearing that?” He pointed to the rubber glove on my hand.
“It keeps my hands clean while I have to touch yucky things.”
“Why do you only have one?” (A valid question.)
“Because I can’t find the other one. And I mainly use this one hand to clean anyway, so I don’t need one on my other hand as much.”
I grabbed the toilet brush and set to work with my right, gloved hand. My mind on the task, it was several moments before I noticed something.
Christian was still standing beside me, watching, and holding my other hand.
So there we were. Me bent over the toilet with a scrub brush, and Christian, inches away, still, quiet, and with his chubby little hand tucked in mine.
I guess he really did just want to be with me.
And I had tried to shoo him away.
It will surely be one of my favorite memories of him ever. (And I may never wear both rubber gloves again.)
~
It’s hardly radical, but I gave up all social media scrolling for the last few weeks. There’s nothing wrong with social media—I like a good cat video just as much as the next gal—but I needed to do an experiment.
The thing was, I was feeling muddled in my faith. I was discontent and uncertain and unsatisfied, and I couldn’t discern the way I should go. And I wondered, what would happen if I replaced all those status updates with scripture? What would it be like if I fed myself with the eternal Word every time I was tempted to snack on the fluff of Facebook?
I like Facebook, and I like all you people who hang out there, but I needed a break and I needed to know. Would God speak to me if I sought after him? Seriously. Would he?
Sometimes a girl just needs to know.
~
Those weeks are over, and I heard God.
I won’t go into it all because, truthfully, some of it wasn’t pleasant and most of it was very personal. God had things to say, and, for once, I had nothing to distract me from listening. There was junk I needed to deal with and my time away brought it to the surface. Some of it hurt, yes, but, thankfully, that wasn’t all.
God showed me something else during that time, something sweeter than I expected. Something delightful.
God, the Almighty, wants to be with me.
As a matter of fact, He enjoys being with me.
Crazy, huh?
Sure, he’s okay with me asking questions, and (praise Him) He even welcomes the times when I pummel him with prayer requests, but, sometimes (or maybe always) He just wants to be together.
God is a good parent, and, just like me, he longs for the times when his children will tuck their hand in His and just watch while He works, quiet and still.
~
“I’m free,” says Christian. Meaning, he’s three years old. And it’s my favorite age so far.
This kid.
He gives perfect hugs, and swordfights the bad guys, and reminds Jesus in his prayers at night that “we do not hit” and, oh my heavens, he holds my hand.
He delights in me, and I am better for it.
God delights in us, and we can be—we should be—better for it.
Do not lose heart and please do not miss out, friends.
Turn to Him in quiet. Stand there and listen. Hold out your hand and be together.
You will not regret time spent with God. Never, ever, ever.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
~ 
And let’s do this too while we’re at it…a giveaway!
God Bless Our Country is out, and I have one copy that needs to find a new home. How ‘bout yours?
Leave a comment below, let’s say, a favorite memory of your kids. (Or, if you don’t have kids, a favorite memory of a sibling or a friend’s kids or from when you were a kid or something else entirely…) and you’ll be entered to win. Subscribe to my newsletter or share this post on Facebook and you’ll be entered twice. (Just be sure to tell me you did.) Winner will be announced next week!
Picking a favorite moment is so hard. One time riding in the car my daughter was looking outside and she said Mommy do you see that cloud over there?…it looks like a weird sun fart! I love her crazy little mind!
Hahahaha! Chloe… 🙂
Christmas 2014:
I was pregnant with our daughter & having a lot of back pain in the spot where an epidural was placed. My three boys & I were putting up the Christmas tree and I suddenly couldn’t straighten my back. I was bent over, trying not to cry from the pain and just started praying. Suddenly I felt my (then) three year old’s hand gently touching my back and his tiny voice saying, “God, please make my mommy’s back feel better.” And God answered that prayer. It’s such an amazing experience to hear your children pray, but it’s especially incredible to hear them pray for you.
Wow. What a sweet memory. How incredible. You are obviously doing a good job with your kids that that was his first response. 🙂 Precious. Thanks for sharing, Crystal.
Too many favorites! But here’s this week’s. Putting Madelynne to bed and she says, “Hey, Mom. They gave us a sheet about parenting classes at school. I threw it away because you and daddy are doing a pretty good job already.”
Good to know 🙂
Well, that’s a nice little vote of confidence, isn’t it? If your kids aren’t like mine–in that they aren’t the most appreciative little boogers most of the time– hearing something like that is worth remembering. Way to go, Madelynne. 🙂
One of my most favorite recent memories was my oldest saying one night at bedtime, “my arms just want to hug you forever!” Talk about melt your heart. Love his hugs!
Oh, precious. I love these huggy little boys too. What a gift. Thank you, Sarah.
After fighting with Liam this morning about the fact that I tore the toilet paper off the roll and handed it to him after pottying instead of him getting to tear it off, handing out a spanking or two then getting them into the car to come to work, I handed Liam half of a bagel. He said, “Sully doesn’t have any! I give him some of mine.” He promptly broke it in half and gave Sullivan the bigger piece. They always seem to redeem themselves with such moments after ones like the toilet paper incident!
Oh, what funny, sweet, precious boys you have, Megan. Thanks for sharing. Now I want a bagel too…
Love this! I’ve been taking longer breaks throughout the days to spend more time with kids and the Lord, and less time online. It’s not the week-long break that you took, but definitely has helped me see how wasteful facebook and such can be when we sit and scroll for hours at a time. And I’ve gotten back into devos and realize that I miss that quiet time, even if it only lasts for 5 minutes at a time. My favorite memory of my kids so far – we took a long road trip when our second child was just a few months old. I turned around mid-trip to see our 2 year old holding hands with him and them both asleep in their carseats. Ever since then they hold hands (when they can reach) and it warms my heart!
Sweetness. More often than not, mind are hitting rather than holding hands, but I guess that’s what makes the hand-holding times so much more special to us, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing, Danae. 🙂
One of my favorite memories is when I’m driving in the car listening to the radio and Mandisa comes on and I start singing along and I look in the mirror and I see my daughters heads bopping and mouths moving right along to the music too! I’m so glad we can laugh and sing together!
Your girls. 🙂 It’s probably time to get them on the Praise Team. 😉
We are living in sinus infection city, so my mind feels clouded with the fussing, fighting, and screaming of the 2, 3, and 5-year-olds in my house. Ah! I’m pretty sure I’m the next in line, but I am cherishing a middle of the night moment with my 6-month-old. She woke up around midnight with the giggles and went on chatting and bouncing and giggling until after 1am! She would roll over and whack my husband to see if he’d play, then whack me. I tried so hard to pretend like I was asleep so she would get bored and latch on and nurse back to sleep, but she had other plans. She wasn’t using her quiet “everyone is sleeping” voice, either. I’m sure gas was at work here, but I just cannot get over those precious giggles and coos. It was worth the middle of the night wake up.
I’m sorry they’ve been sick, Tara. I hope things are looking up by now. And, good for you! Enjoying the middle of the night giggles instead of being frustrated by them. I still have a lot to learn there. I love Nate with every bit of myself…but I don’t really want to hang out with him at night. 🙂 Thanks for reading. 🙂