I remember when my oldest daughter, Ashley, was about two and a half years old. We were in line at a park, about to ride those little ponies that walk in a circle. She was so mesmerized by the little horses that they might as well have been the Budweiser Clydesdales. Because her eyes were fixed on the horses, she had stopped moving with the line and was now standing beside the man behind me. I watched her, taking great pleasure in the awe she had for the horses. Just then she reached out her arm and put a half hug around the knee of the gentleman who had taken the place I had been standing in. When the man said “Hi there,” Ashley looked up and her pleasant smile was quickly replaced by a stunned look of Hey, you’re not my Dad! Quickly I said “Hey sweetie, I’m right here,” at which Ashley immediately offered both arms to me for rescue.
Who taught her which man was safer? How did she learn one pant leg is quite different from another? I believe this is the way and the will of the Father. He wants to show us that He is all we need to cling to by wooing us to Himself with dose after dose of Life and Love. He seems to pursue me more than I pursue Him, to want me near more than I want to be near him. He wants me filled more than I long to be filled. And that is a good thing. Pursued? Brought near? Filled again? What a relief! I seem to need this not just once but more and more like some kind of addict. Hi, my name is Michael, and I’m addicted to Love.
An excerpt from Search and Rescue.
