Pastor and Bekki

Last Sunday at church my granddaughter Bekki saw Pastor Mike across the foyer.  She started pulling on my hand.  "I want to see Pastor Mike!", she cried.  She broke free calling out "Pastor Mike" running towards him.   He heard her and bent down to her level with arms wide open, a big smile across his face.  She ran into his arms and he gave her a big bear hug and started talking with her.  She twirled around and he commented on her pretty dress.  She than stuck out her pink high top converses.  When he liked those she started to dance.   Bekki and Pastor were having a fine time.  After a couple of minutes she ran back to me and was very happy.  


First, I love that we have a Pastor that takes time for even the least of our congregation.  As her grandma I left feeling blessed but later in the week I got to thinking.  Wasn't that a beautiful picture of Jesus?   Shepherd and a little sheep.  She knew him and wasn't afraid to run to him to give him a hug.   We should have that childlike trust that we can run into the Lord's presence to love on Him and to receive His love.  Children are fearless, aren't they?  Why aren't we when we come to talk with the Lord?   The way she twirled and danced was so sweet.  Little girls twirl for those they love.  In the book Captivating, author Stasi Eldridge says they are asking, "Do you see me?"  "Am I important?"    Pastor was symbolizing  the love, the acceptance that the Lord shows us.  Symbolizing we are important to God, He  sees us.  Pastor was in the middle of talking to a couple of grown ups.   But seeing a little one coming over he stopped a minute to talk with her on her level.  


The Lord is rather busy, I imagine.  But He always has time to talk with us.  He wants us to come to Him to share our joys and our sorrows and cares even just to check in to see if He still sees us.  This world can mess with our minds and sometimes we forget or we doubt that He see us and that He loves us.  


 We need to just remember Bekki's childlike faith and follow her example and run into the waiting arms of our savior.  Take a minute through out our  day to be childlike and to check in to say Hi, to say,  See me?  I see you!  

Matthew 19:14

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

King of the Universe

There is a song called: "Now I Sing" by Pocket Full of Rocks. One line in it says..."But they just don't know what it's like to have the King of the universe hold your hand".
Doesn't it amaze you that the King of the universe is aware of you. He sees you. He loves you. He loves me. That blows me away. I am continually trying to wrap my mind around it, around the wonder of it. How many people are there in the world? Thousands? Millions? More? And God sees us, each of us? And he cares about us. I guess he isn't restricted like we are. I can barely remember last week much less all the people in all the countries, all the people in each little corner of the world. Someone in an apartment in the slums of Calcutta. Another person in a village in Africa. A politician in Washington. A fisherman on the ocean. A child in Los Angeles, a grandfather in Columbia. Whoever. wherever. God sees each of us. And he has a plan for our lives. The Bible says he doesn't have evil thoughts toward us but a hope and a future. How astounding! The being who crafted the mountains, the inner workings of the system of a tree, the colors in a rainbow, the sweetness of a new born baby, the rolling thunder, the intricacies of a snow flake. The one who made all that and more has a plan for you! A plan for me! And for our children and the people you will meet today. And the people on the other side of the world. And the checker at Walmart, and the lonely souls in the nursing homes, and the forgotten prisoner and the star on the movie screen, and the wannabes and the has beens. All of us and each of us. Because yes he has a plan for the world but he also has a plan for each individual.
He has given us grace. His unmerited favor. It's a paradox. We are each His favorite. But we can only enjoy and revel in that, if we embrace what seems impossible. Because we look at it from a human view instead of from a God view. He is God. So much more than we can fully understand and if he can know each one of us, be aware of each one of us that populate this planet. Is it a stretch to believe he can have a plan for each of us and that we can each be his favorite? I don't think so. My heart doesn't think so. That is why I LOVE this song and it makes me want to sing and dance. Why it thrills me to think about what it says......





Now I Sing by Pocket Full of Rocks...

Let the world say that I'm crazy, let the world call me a fool
But they just don't know what I've found in You, my precious jewel
Let the world say that I've lost my mind and that I have no ground to stand
But they just don't know what it's like
to have the King of the universe hold your hand

So I sing, we dance before You Lord
I sing, we dance before You Lord
I can't help but sing, we dance before You Lord
Lord I sing, we dance before You Lord

Let the world say that I'm crazy, let the world call me a fool
But they just don't know what I've found in You, my precious jewel
Let the world say that I've lost my mind
and that I have no ground to stand
But they just don't know what it's like
to have the king of the universe hold Your hand

(Chorus)

So let the world say I can't dance,
that I've got no rhythm at all
They say that You can't even two-step,
if You tried You'd trip and fall
And there are many ballerinas
with much more grace than me
But I tell ya, I'm God's favorite,
He's got eyes only for me

(Chorus)