Wake me up!

I wish I could tell you that after 21 years of parenting that I have it all figured out, but truth be told, my kids are still teaching me lessons every single day. I’m not sure if I’m a slow learner or they’re gifted, but we’re going with the latter.

This week on Monday morning, I followed my usual routine – wake up, rub the sleepy from my eyes, and head straight to the refrigerator for my Diet Coke. I know. It’s a terrible addition, and a 12-step program might be in order, but let me clarify and say this. It’s really not a Diet Coke. I just call it that because it was Diet Coke for many, many years. Now, it’s actually Coke Zero – zero caffeine, zero sugar, zero calories. I’m thinking that makes it much less serious, so I’m not looking for a support group yet.

Anyway, once I grab my Coke Zero from the fridge, I walk to the sink and take a peek outside my favorite window in the house. Thankfully, the window is quite large, so I get a panoramic view of the east side of our property. Yep, you got it. I get to see the sun coming up if I time it just right. And, I almost always get to see deer because we have a feeder in direct sight of the window.

This particular morning, I notice that Cameron left me a note on the counter by the window…”If u see Big Buck in the mornin wake me up!” Please note two things: First, Big Buck is his name. We’ve seen him, we’ve given him a name, and Cam fully expects to see him mounted on the wall by the end of deer season. Second, Cam may have failed to place the requisite comma after “mornin” but he did not miss the exclamation point at the end of the sentence to clearly communicate what he was thinking. If I saw Big Buck, waking him up was NOT optional. If you’re a little confused by the extra marking below the words Big Buck, look closely. Cam has drawn me a picture of Big Buck to ensure I don’t miss him.

Cam absolutely cracks me up most days. This isn’t the first note he’s ever left for me, and this isn’t the first time his note got me to thinking. This morning his note left me pondering three things:

If we’re not looking for it, we’re not going to find it.
If we’re not intentional about what we’re looking for, we’re probably going to find the wrong thing.
If we see it, it’s worth sharing.

I bet you can guess I’m not talking about Big Buck any more. I’m talking about God.

If we’re not looking for God, we’re not going to find Him. Evidence of God’s love and grace and power exists all around us, but so many times we don’t find it or see it, because it’s not what we’re looking for. We only see God when we have Him disguised as the answers we want to our prayers. And, when He answers our prayers the way He knows is best, but it’s not what we want, we think He’s not present or listening. I have to remind myself often…if I’m still breathing, God is with me – regardless of any other circumstances that may be present. If I will just look, I will find Him!
If we’re not intentional about looking for God, we’re probably going to find the wrong thing. Goodness, the list of things in today’s world that try to lure and tempt us away from God is miles long. These things aren’t just stealing our time, our energy, our money, and our attention, they are stealing our hearts from Him. If our eyes are not on Him, they are on something else…and that something else will never satisfy us the way He can!
When (notice I did not say IF!!) we see God, He’s worth sharing. The way we live our lives should do exactly what Cam did in his note. The way we live our lives should draw a picture of what Christ looks like so others can see Him. We are called to be Christ on this earth – to be His hands and feet and to love others like He does.

Father God, wake me up! I don’t want to overlook your presence in my life. I don’t want anything to steal my heart from you. I don’t want to miss a single opportunity to let my life shine the spotlight on just how good you are, God! Father, keep my eyes on You alone! With a grateful heart I pray, Amen.

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