When was the last time you completely put yourself aside & entered another person's world?
Friday night I was home w/ Cade while Erin has a ladies party at the church. I had been w/ him all days as I was off & Erin was substitute teaching. That evening after dinner I decided I was completely devoting myself to Cade. I turned off the TV. I didn't pick up my book. I didn't do dishes, laundry, or anything else. I entered Cade's world. He played, stared off into space, drooled, laughed, babbled, drooled some more, kicked me like 100 times. I watched his facial expressions, tried to figure out what he was thinking or saying. I paid attention to nothing else but him. I did my best to determine what he wanted. I changed him, fed him, & then put him to bed.
After all this I began to think about my day. All day long, though I was taking care of him, I was doing the things I needed to do or wanted to do & brought Cade along w/ me. He sat in the high chair while I did dishes & ate lunch. He played on his activity mat alone while I put up laundry. I realized though I was w/ him all day I was forcing him mostly to surrender to my agenda rather than trying to understand his. The most meaningful part of my day was the time devoted completely to him.
Our marriages would be better if we intentionally devoted time completely to our spouses. No distractions. No implementing our own agendas or leading the conversations.
Our parenting would be better if we intentionally devoted time completely to our children. No distractions. No dragging them around & forcing them to meet the demands of our agenda but rather submitting to their agenda.
Most importantly, our spiritual lives would be revolutionized if we devoted time each day competely to Jesus. No distractions. No trying to fit Jesus into our plans or agendas. Not trying to get him to meet our demands, but rather discovering his desires for us & going along w/ it.
