I'll getcha, daddy!

My son loves to chase me! Around the sofa, around the kitchen, around the yard... laughing all the way. Sometimes we have to stop so we can catch our breath - me from running, and him from laughing. He will often come sneakily toward me, crouched over, hands extended, saying, "I'll getcha, daddy!" And he usually does. Truth is, I want him to get me! I wouldn't want to ever have him chase me and not catch me.

Sometimes, I initiate the chase. I'll get his attention and then quickly hide behind the couch, or a door. I'll even go after him, crouched over, hands extended, saying, "I'll getcha, Nathan!" Ultimately, the chases end in hugs or wrestling matches (growling hugs) or with him jumping up and down on me as I struggle for air and try to hold down my last meal.

I've had discussions with others in the past about "chasing after God". There have been books written about that - "The God Chasers" and others. I'm glad to know that God wants us to chase after him - "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart" - Jeremiah 29:13. John 4:23 says that He is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. I'm glad that, like me with my son, God sometimes initiates the chase by coming after us!

In the Shadow

I recently took my son to the park on a beautiful, sunny day. He enjoyed our time there on the swings, the slide, playing hide-and-go-seek on, under, and around the play gym, and rolling his ball up and down the slide. As we were leaving, I realized the hot noon sun was bearing down on him. We had a good distance to walk back to the car with no shade to protect us. I decided to position myself between him and the sun, so he could walk in my shadow. He didn't seem to want that! As he realized he was in my shadow, he stopped, causing me to pass him up. I stopped and waited for him, then continued to shield him from the sunlight. He stopped again, then took off ahead of me to keep me from placing him in the "dark". At first, I believed he thought it was a game, but then I noticed he was getting frustrated, and he even said, "don't want it!" The boy didn't want to be in my shadow!

I immediately wondered if we are that way sometimes with God. He desires to Father us, and knows that sometimes we need to be protected from the "elements". This may, at times, require him to place us within his "shadow". We, on the other hand, don't always see His protection. We see a situation where we aren't in the "sunlight", and we presume something is wrong. We fight for our right to be in that light, reaching for that which could "burn" us as we reject God's protection.

There are many ways we could interpret or apply this to our individual lives, but perhaps we should simply consider this: The next time we feel we've been placed "in the shadows", maybe we should ask God if He has placed us there for our own good before we start complaining.

Introduction

I've been a dad for a couple of years now. Daily, I glean incredible insight to life, God, love, trust, innocence, etc. through lessons my son teaches me. I guess I've been learning from children since I was one myself - my younger siblings, kids in the neighborhood or at school or church. I just never had such in-your-face learning opportunities as I've experienced since Nathan was born. I think most parents experience degrees of this, depending on their interaction with and openness to their children. I hope to capture and share some glimpses of these lessons through this blog and, perhaps one day share them with my adult son in a sort of "teacher's appreciation".