Another Peephole into the Mysteries of God

This past Sunday was my first Mother’s Day as a mom.  The week before, I began to think about my sweet little Archie and about what he’s teaching me about God’s nature.  For years I’ve read the scriptures, and I’m very familiar with the idea that God calls us—those who are in Christ—His children.  I’ve come to think of this teaching as very basic and obvious, if not cliché at times. But Archie has stripped this idea of all cliché-like qualities for me.  To imagine that God sees me and Keaton as His children is almost unbelievable, because here is what it means:

I look at Archie, and (most the time) my heart swells with joy in who he is, in his simplistic beauty, and in the purity of his expressions. He cries, and I am immediately aware, even if I’m in a deep sleep. If he’s in pain, I hurt with him. If he were to be in danger, I think the adrenaline in my body would enable me to do things way beyond my natural capability to save him.

I would do anything to save him.

Then I realized that God feels this way about me.  He not only saves me with His actions (sent Christ to die for me), but He loves me and DELIGHTS in my being. To read the above paragraph and grasp that perhaps the Creator feels those same things for me is remarkable.

Archie needs me for everything. He needs me for food, for warmth, for comfort, and for security. He needs me for cleanliness and even for movement. I teach him how to speak, to listen, to hold things and to let things go. I even teach him how to rest. A few months ago, he refused to nap. Even when he was exhausted, he fought sleep until he was so upset he just cried and cried. I taught him how to sleep, and he rests well now.

God, who is my Creator and my Savior, has also called Himself my father. I’m beginning to understand that I need Him for everything. I need him to feed my soul, to comfort me when I see and hear horrible things that rock the world, to know I am securely in the hands of the One who holds the galaxies. I need him to cleanse my soul, and I need Him to move in me.  He teaches me how to speak words that heal—not hurt—others, to listen well, and He teaches me when to fight for things and when to let go of them. Also, He tells me to rest, which is very hard.

God gave me Archie so that I could understand more of His nature, and I’m overwhelmed by the beauty I see in Him. Can’t wait for more Mother’s Days and for more “sneak-peaks” into his mysterious character.