Father

This afternoon I was at our local coffee shop, enjoying the rainy skies and a good cafe au lait.  While there my attention was drawn to a little girl, probably about 4 or 5 years old.  She was wandering in the back of the coffee shop by my table, when she started to cry and looked afraid.  She continued to slowly wander around, crying, and calling out for her dad.  "Daddy!  Daddy! Where are you!"  Her dad came out from around the corner and picked her up in a big hug.  "I'm right here, what's wrong?"  "I got lost, I couldn't find you, I was scared."  Her father simply wiped her tears, handed her a cup of hot chocolate, and all was right in the world again.

As I was sitting there watching this little girl calling out and searching for her father, and was hit by the comparison to my own life and my relationship with our Heavenly Father.  I can't count the number of times I have felt lost in life, wandering, crying out for God to help me.  I have felt utterly and terribly alone, questioning if I would ever be found again.  Many times I am lost and wandering because of my own sin and selfishness.  But just like the dad today in the coffee shop, God calmly finds me, wipes my tears, and puts me back on track.

After seeing the Gospel being played out before me at the coffee shop I spent some time in Luke 15.  I would encourage you to do the same, when you find some quiet time.

"Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.  Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep."


I literally fell in love all over again with Jesus as I was reading this.  How sweet is it that the God I serve would leave the ninety-nine in search of one.  We are that valuable, that precious, that beloved, that God goes to all lengths to find us and save us.  And not only does God leave the whole flock in search of one sheep, but he rejoices when that sheep is found.  I take such joy and comfort in knowing I have a Father who is constantly searching for me and loving me, despite how far I wander off the path.