I don’t know how many of you know this, but I’m a Grandpa! I know, it is probably one of the worst kept secrets ever. I have found that being a Grandpa, or Poppy as I am called, is one of the greatest things in the world.
Not so much in that I didn’t enjoy my kids or love my kids (because I absolutely do), but when all those things were taken away from me because of time passing…I get a do over with Bonnie.
I get a do over in watching kids cartoons. I get a do over with picking them up and giving them smooches. I get a do over with buying them certain toys and coloring with them. I get a do over in seeing the joy in their eyes as they experience new things. It is so amazing.
In all of the do overs, I think the one that I enjoy the most is the do over of cuddling with them on Poppy’s recliner and not doing anything but loving on each other. It is that time with baby and Poppy that reminds Poppy of how much he is loved and gives Poppy an opportunity to love baby the way he wants to love that baby.
The problem with kids is that they grow up and as they grow up, they get this thing called energy…toddler energy! If scientists could ever figure out a way to tap into toddler energy, we could run the
electricity for every city in the United States and more! Toddler energy means that they can run and not get tired. They can play and when they’re done playing, they must play some more! Toddler energy is when it’s nap time they must do anything to stay awake, which means they can’t take the risk of sitting on Poppy‘s lap because I know what that means (the dreaded nap time)!
As that thought came to me this morning, I began thinking about our Heavenly Father as a true loving father! And a true loving father absolutely loves watching his kids develop, grow, and achieve amazing things! But there’s not one thing that makes a good loving father more happy than those times of cuddling with his kids…loving on his kids.
Now, I recognize that my 6’1” son and my 5’10” daughter are probably not going to be able to get on Dad‘s lap and still cuddle with me, though the times that we just sit and talk and enjoy one another is amazingly cool. It never takes the place of them as cuddling infants sitting on Dad‘s lap.
The good news is our Heavenly Father is not like that. He’s got a really big lap and He invites all of us to come and sit on His lap to love on Him and to not necessarily do anything else. To just sit on His lap and receive smooches, to listen to his voice and to talk to him about stuff. To just to cuddle with Daddy!
The problem becomes as we get bigger and older we also begin getting more energy for everything else around us and we forget that time of just sitting on Daddy‘s lap and loving him. The thing is not all things are bad. My grandbaby playing with her toys, reading her books, running around and being mischievous is not bad…but Poppy is missing those cuddles and she’s missing out on the love that Poppy wants to show her.
When it comes to our Heavenly Father we become so busy that we miss the most important thing in our life and that is cuddled with Father God.
Busyness Steals Time
All busyness is not bad, but when it steals from the most important thing it becomes dangerous.
You say, what does busyness look like?
It may look like work. I have to put in those extra hours to earn that extra money to pay for extra stuff or those extra bills.
It may look like play. We only have so much time to enjoy one another and to have these times together. Sports leagues, dance classes, other extracurricular activities just make us busier.
It may look like family time all the time. We want our kids to have great experiences and so we spend our time taking them from one thing to another. Again, which is good…but are you teaching them to be quiet and spend time with God?
It may look like working for God. I know that sounds weird, but often we get so mixed up with the work of the Lord that we forget to spend time with the Lord of the work. Spending time with Him is where things will change for us.
The Most Important Thing. In Luke 10, we see a very familiar account of two sisters who were entertaining Jesus. One (Martha) was so busy making sure that Jesus had everything to eat to drink, making sure the bathroom was clean, making sure there was no dust on floor or tables…and all those things are good! She even got ticked off that her sister was not helping her and was just sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him and loving on Him.
Beloved, the thing was she was missing out on what Jesus wanted for her the most. Jesus’ exact words were “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part….(Luke 10:42)“
My question to you today is, are you choosing the good part or are you choosing the busy stuff of life? We live in an entertainment society where we must constantly be distracted and entertained. Social media tells us if I’m just sitting here I need to scroll. Streaming services says if this show is not any good, I can watch anything and everything else. However, sometimes all we need is to get real close to Dad and just love on Him. Nothing else! Often when we feel Dad is so far away, it’s notbecause Dad is so far away, it’s because our busyness has moved us away from Dad. And all Dad wants is for you to draw dear to Him.
James 4:8 tells us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” Just like the prodigal son who after his meandering busyness he chose
to come near to Dad and seeing that one action Dad ran to him, reached over, picked him up, hugged him, loved him, kissed him, and was able to show the provision that he made for him.
I even liked the end of that verse where it says “clean your hands” and “purify your hearts”, because a lot of times in our busyness our hands get kind of messy (anyone with little kids knows that) and our hearts get full of a lot of other stuff, but let’s just wash up and come to the Father. Let’s sit on His lap let’s love on Him and let’s let Him love us the way He wants to love us.
How Do I Do That
The reason more people don’t learn to cuddle with Daddy is because they just really don’t know how to do it. Well, let me help you with some direction.
Make a decision. Mary chose to do what she did at Jesus’ feet. We must make a decision to put down all the extra toys and just crawl onto Dad’s lap and cuddle.
Plan some time by yourself. Time doesn’t just show up, you must plan some time. If you have kids, it is not an excuse, it just means it may have to be very early or very late…but it is you and Dad time. Start with 10 or 15 minutes and let it grow naturally.
Turn off phone, TV and all social media. Scrolling is a thief of time and a thief of attention. If it is too tempting then leave your phone in another room. You say, “But my Bible is on my phone,” I would highly suggest getting a physical Bible…unless you can control the temptation.
Sit down with your Bible and your notebook and nothing else. Your Bible is so you can hear from God and the notebook so you can write down what He says to you. A lot of time in these times you will get a lot of ideas…some will seem time sensitive. Write them down and get to them after your cuddle time.
Sing a song of worship. Get going by praising the Lord, loving Him for who He is, and for Him for speaking to you for being a Good Daddy. Don’t get too distracted by the music…focus on Daddy.
Read a portion of Scripture. It doesn’t have to be long. It just needs to be Scripture. When you read something that gets your attention, write it down. Begin talking to God about the details.
Write down ways to apply it to what you’re going through. You will begin noticing that the things you’re writing down are not coming from your brain, but from your spirit man. They are God speaking to you, secrets and ideas to make your life better. Things you will only get on Daddy’s lap!
Let that time increase. As you go by day after day and week after week learned to extend this time by a minute, two minutes, even five minutes. It may seem like an impossibility right now, but you will learn that you need these cuddle times with your Heavenly Father, just as much as he does!
Our Heavenly Father
In Matthew 7:11 it tells us, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Beloved, our loving Heavenly Father passionately desires these cuddle time with us…not just for Him (though He loves that time), but for what He can do for you in the midst of that time.
Make a decision today, just like when your kids were young or like you do with your grandbabies, to prioritize cuddle time with your Heavenly Father. Make it the thing that drives you each and every day. The more you do it…the more you will need to do it.
ARTICLE WRITTEN by Pastor Thad Callahan. Pastor of Grace Fellowship of Morehead.
