Spider Webs & Bunny Ears

I’ve developed a little bit of a morning routine…

Typically I get up about an hour before anyone else because that’s the only time our house is actually quiet.  And this is my time.  It’s my time to connect with God—to read, think, pray, and receive.  It’s also a time that typically involves coffee.  At exactly 7:00 the house is no longer quiet because that’s when Tighe’s alarm clock goes off.  He starts every day with a full-out sprint, and usually his first destination is to visit me downstairs in the basement.  I can always hear him coming.  I hear the pitter-patter of his feet upstairs and then I see his feet as he makes his way downstairs.

Tighe and I have also developed a little routine…

He usually climbs up on my lap and we just sit for a few minutes.  Often times we listen to raindrops using my headphones.  I’ve got a really cool raindrop app.  Raindrops, I tell him, remind us that God loves us.  So we just sit and listen to the sound of God’s love for us.  Then we usually spend a few minutes talking about whatever comes to mind, and we always finish with prayer.

A few days ago Tighe came downstairs wearing bunny ears left over from Easter.  He greeted me with a huge smile, as if he hadn’t seen me in ages.  As he crawled up onto my lap, I noticed he had his pajama pants on inside out and backwards.  He had no idea.  We sat and listened to raindrops for a few minutes.  Then, wanting Tighe to know who he is from God’s perspective, I said, “Tighe, God has given you unique talents and abilities.  He’s created you for a purpose.”  Want to know what he said in response?  He said, “Dad, look at the spider web over there.”  I acknowledged the spider web.  We sat for a few more minutes, and then I tried to instill something important again.  I said, “Tighe, you are special in my eyes and in God’s eyes.  We both love you more than you can imagine.”  His response, “Dad, my bunny ears are on too tight.”  We sat together for a few more minutes and then prayed together.  Then, as he got up to leave, he turned to me and said, “I love you, Dad.” 

I sat there stunned for a few moments taking in all that had just happened.

That brief interaction captured so much for me about my own relationship with God. 

Most times, when I try to connect with God, I am a bit out of sorts. 

Like Tighe’s pajama pants, I often come to God inside out and backwards—often without even realizing it.  I think I have it together, I think things are going great, but really the tag is visible on the front side.  And although I may not even notice, God does.  He pays attention to each detail in my life.  And no matter what he sees, no matter how out of sorts I am, he still delights in me.  He still loves me.  Like Tighe, I often come to God distracted and lacking focus.  I am sure I’ve missed important things that God has tried to instill in me because I am fixated on spider webs and bunny ears, so to speak.  The other day I literally sat during a time of “prayer” daydreaming about how nice it would be to have a slightly bigger entryway in our house so that the shoes wouldn’t pile up.  My ability to actually focus on God when I am with God is borderline embarrassing at times.  My mind can literally wander aimlessly in a million different directions for rather extensive periods of time.  Sometimes it doesn’t wander at all.  It’s fixated on something, for sure, it’s just not fixated on God.  It’s fixated on a problem, a stressor, or something that I need to do. 

The interesting thing about my recent interaction with Tighe is that I wasn’t frustrated, not at all.  I didn’t get upset with Tighe that his pants were inside out and backwards.  I wasn’t angry when he was blatantly tuning me out in the name of spider webs and bunny ears.  Because even though he didn’t grab hold of everything I had to offer him, there were several sweet and perfect moments in there too.  I just enjoyed that he was with me.  I truly thought the entire interaction was precious and hilarious all at the same time.    And I just can’t help but think that this is how it is with God.  He sees us for who we are.  He knows when we are distracted.  And yet, even with all of that, there are sweet and delightful moments that are worth drinking in deeply. 

God is always at work, even beyond our detection. 

Sometimes you might feel like setting aside time for him is a total waste because you don’t feel like you are getting much out of it.  I’ve been there countless times over the years.  But I assure you, even those times when you come to God inside out and backwards, distracted and non-receptive, God delights in you and enjoys you and is at work in you.  It’s never a waste of time.  God wants you, all of you—spider webs, bunny ears, and all.