Waiting for Daddy

I recently started working in the child care department of a health and fitness club. Parents are able to bring their kids and leave them in the kids' club while they go work out. The kids' club is a fun place; it has a movie theater, an awesome slide, a row of TV's to play X-box on, and countless toys. Still, some kids have a hard time separating from their parents. One little girl in particular caught my attention last night. Her dad carried her into the room and sat down with her in order to try and get her to color a picture. After a while, he left to go work out, and the girl was devastated. She cried and cried out of frustration and confusion. I can just imagine some of the thoughts running through her mind: "Where is my daddy? Why did he leave me here alone? Is he ever coming back?" I went over and tried to talk her into playing on the slide or watching a movie, but all she could say in the midst of her tears was "Daddy!" It was clear that even though the place she was in was filled with toys and all kinds of fun things to do, the only place she wanted to be was with her daddy. I told her, "your daddy will be back soon. He had to go work out, but he left you here because he wanted you to play and have fun. Why don't you color a picture for him? He will want to see it when he gets back." It was then that I made an instant connection.

That's how we are sometimes as Christians. This world can be a fun place and it offers basically anything we could ever want, but sometimes, we feel lonely and even abandoned. We just want to cry and be reunited with our Father. However, God has placed is here for a purpose. Even though this world is broken and life on Earth is not always easy, God has a job for us to do; our very own picture to color. While we wait for Him to return, it's not going to do any good for us to just sit here and cry. Sure, it's perfectly normal to grow weary and have moments in which we feel the weight of this world and cry about it, but we can't stay there. No matter how far away it may seem, the day is quickly approaching on which our Father will come for us. He has given each of us a unique mission and He will want to see who has been faithfully fighting the dark and serving and who has been crying and giving in to despair. As my grandma used to say, "don't do anything that you wouldn't want to be doing when The Lord comes back!" We'd better start coloring our pictures.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ” (‭Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭32-37‬ NIV)