Climbing on Daddy’s Lap

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I’m tired today. I woke with a weary spirit and a gray heart. The warm winds of September bekon me to join Joshua in his caterpillar hunt in the backyard, but I really just want to curl up in my own cacoon today and hide. 
 
I’d love to hide from the twelve loads of laundry waiting for me in the basement; hide from the soccer uniforms, football pants, and countless pairs of underwear that need to be folded and returned to their temporary  homes before a half-naked child unloads an entire dresser drawer looking for them.  I’d love to hide from the two grocery sacks sitting on my kitchen counter, hide from the Cheerios and Golden Grahams, M and Ms and candy corn, pretzels and brown sugar that need to be mixed, baked, cooled and stuffed into ziplock baggies so Hannah can share her favorite trail mix with the Pink Panther soccer team after tomorrow’s game. Sad to say, I’d even like to hide from the four miniature pumpkins that sit patiently on the craft table and wait for somebody to give them happy painted faces. I promised the kids hours ago that we would design a masterpiece on the orange round canvases, but somehow the day is slipping away. And so is my creative ambition.



I want to echo my little Joshua’s end-of-the-day cry right now: “My legs don’t work anymore, Daddy. Could you carry me?” And just as my husband never turns down the chance to lift his littlest boy into his arms and carry the gift close to his heart, neither would my Heavenly Father. Zephaniah 3:17 reminds me that God longs to swoop me into his arms and give me the rest for which I so wearily ache:  “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
 
 In the words of Beth Moore, “These verses beautifully illustrate that blessed moment in which God’s throne becomes a rocking chair and He pulls His fretting, fearful child into His arms and says, ‘It’s OK, I’m right here.’ What does it mean to be “quieted with His love”? If you are a mother, you have quieted a child with your love countless times, rocking the child, and all the while whispering, “Sh-h-h-h-. Mommy loves you.” How does God “rejoice over” His children “with singing”? This is the precious picture of a parent savoring the moment as His child’s frame finally rests in His arms to the tender melody of a lullaby (Living Beyond Yourself 133).
 

When I was a little girl, I had an aunt who loved to rock me in her old wooden rocking chair while I snuggled in her arms. Sometimes she would sing lullabies in hopes of luring me into dreamland; while other times, she would grab the dog-eared pages of The Best Nest and gently read me (for the hundredth time) the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bird. Long after everyone else in my life had stopped pulling me onto their laps, my sweet aunt continued the tradition. My gangly elementary school legs eventually tangled with hers and nearly reached the floor, but if Aunt Lona climbed into the rocking chair, I was close behind. That’s what I need in this moment,  to be tangled with my Savior. I need to press my weary soul in so close that I can’t tell where I end and He begins.  
 
Perhaps if I do those little pumpkins on the craft table won’t be the only ones who are smiling at the day’s end.                                       

The Overflow:   I have loved you, O My people, with an everlasting love; with loving-kindness I have drawn you to Me.

                                                             –Jeremiah 31:3
Alicia

2 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    I’m praying for you my friend!
    ~Robin

    Reply

  2. Thanks for your honesty. Thanks for admitting some days you (we) are just tired and don’t feel like doing what the Lord has put in front of us to do (and to do it with a real joy). Isn’t it wonderful though that He will pick us up and carry us, wonderful.
    As a side note on the pink panthers: I thought of a really wise mom who told me to just do the pre-packaged items for things like this, something has to give…never the less I too made 9 dozen monster cookies for the pink panther game that was cancelled on Saturday 🙂

    Reply

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