If you’ve got kids, you’re raising them to leave you. That cut umbilical cord was the clue they don’t really belong to us–they were born to fly.
Eventually they leave the nest–Mine are too young for me to even fathom this, but I lived it and probably you too. When we return, parents cancel appointments and make favorite meals. Quality time and fun are maximized and we taste a bit of heaven.
Were you one of the kids who packed up dirty laundry to bring home? I was!!
Parents don’t look at their kids strange when they see the bag, nor do they send them away to a laundry mat, but, (usually) they lovingly take the load.
If I’ll ever be the parent on the receiving end, I imagine–having no more fingerprints to wipe, pen marks to remove, or sandwiches to prepare– that load of laundry is a special opportunity to serve/love/bless my little ones, who are no longer little.
Won’t heaven be like this too–the ultimate Homecoming? One bible verse glimpses God like a Parent receiving kids back from college:
“Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he [the master] will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. (Luke 12:37)
“Gird himself” directly echos words used to describe when Jesus washed the dirty feet of his disciples. Can you imagine any Kings, or any one, abasing themselves like this today? Servanthood is a hidden and hard-to-fathom characteristic of an All Powerful God, but
Consider the love/sacrifice/care of a mother or father for their child and it becomes clear.
Next time you’re busy doing things for God, remember He desires to minister to you! Keep caring for and loving one another (because that’s doing it for Him -Mat. 25:40), and take time to receive as well. Humbling and hard to do, but so necessary.
This is Day 29 of the #Write31Days Series, #WildKidsWildGod – 31 Days Looking into the Heart of God. The series has been exploring our Divine Heritage and a Misunderstood God through simple insights gained from the parenting journey rollercoaster.
-For another glimpse of Humility (versus Entitlement), check this.
-For better understanding on the free will when it comes to love, read Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart–do I love because I must or I want to?
-Curious about the Motherhood of God? Check this, or this.
Photo Credits:
Woman washing, 1930s-Missippi Archives
Jesus washing disciples feet-Ford Madox Brown
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