“I have only ten minutes.”
He walks in, his shoes already taken off as if this was his home. With these words, he lets me know right away that he is pressed for time, and how long he will be able to stay.
I smile, because it’s kinda funny how this young man, at only three years of age, announces this like he’s the boss and his time and availability is all that matters. He tells me about his morning and what’s been happening. He follows me into the kitchen, and as he keeps chatting on, sees the nuts he has been liking recently on the shelf behind me.
He let’s me know he’s hungry. I already know what he wants, but I also know it’s only 8:30 in the morning and I’m sure he’s had breakfast – and those nuts aren’t exactly the healthy kind. So I ask him about breakfast, and what he’d eaten. I tell him that unfortunately I don’t have any bread or yogurth he would like. I verify whether hunger is really what this is.
I offer crackers – I always have those on hand. But he didn’t want those.
I ask him: “So what is it you want then?”.
He looks at me innocently, as if he wouldn’t know the answer, and asks: “Do you have some of my nuts left?”
Of course I did. And I gave him what he asked for because sometimes I just can’t say no to him, and it’s sometimes difficult to tell whether he may actually truly be somewhat hungry.
Ten minutes later, he left. Crumbles of nuts leftover on my table, he had finished off the entire glass.
I think about it, how funny it is that he just comes in and announces his time and needs, fully knowing that he’s welcome even for the ten minutes, and that I’m happy to see him.
And I realize how I often treat God the same way. I come and announce my needs to Him and tell Him how much time I have. I very often even tell Him how He should meet my needs.
I know I can come, even just for ten minutes, and He will be happy to see me. I know He doesn’t mind that I talk about me when I do.
But I wonder – how often does He want to share His heart with me and I don’t even give Him a chance? How often does He want to meet my needs, but I don’t want the way He does it? How often do I just tell Him how He should meet my needs? How often would He just like for me to come, sit with Him, ask Him for how much time He would want to spend with me and what is on His heart?
I know, it is something I need to start doing more often. I know, I want to come to Him, and ask Him to reveal what is on His heart, and how He sees fit to meet my needs.
For I know that He knows how to do that so much better than I ever will.
