If It Were a Snake

     When I was a little girl I was notorious for misplacing my shoes.  It would be time to go somewhere and we would be all ready, except I was still barefoot.  I loved being barefoot so I am sure my mom thought I "lost" my shoes on purpose, but I honestly did not know where they were. She would ask me to go find them and I would search everywhere to no avail.  So I would report back to her that my shoes were in fact lost.  She would ask me if I looked in my room, outside, in the bathroom and living room, all the logical places for a little girl to strip them off.  I would assure her that I searched all those places and there were no shoes.  At this point I am sure she was getting impatient with me, especially since this was an almost daily problem. We really needed to leave by now, so she would come and help me look.  We would go over the same places I had already been and re-look.  The shoes would normally turn up very fast in a logical and obvious place.  My mom would then be a little exasperated with me and amazed that I had not found them myself and would say "lucky for you, your shoes are not a snake or else they would have bitten you." I am sure this confused her to no end since, not to brag, but I was a smart kid, I made great grades, I was in gifted and talented classes and I was constantly asking questions to satisfy my overly curious mind.  Yet I could not find my shoes in plain sight.  Then one day my mom watched me as I looked for my shoes and realized I was looking up and not down, like I thought my shoes were magically on the ceiling.  Well no wonder I could not find them, there is no way that they would be there.  I was literally stepping over my shoes in an effort to find said shoes.  After that every time I was sent to look for shoes I was sent with a reminder, "look all around the house, and make sure you are not looking on the ceiling." Needless to say I was a lot faster at finding my shoes from then on, because I was looking in the right places AND in the right direction.  I have grown up (some) now and can usually find my shoes and everyone else's around here because I am the mom and that is a skill that moms need, but those words "if it were a snake it would have bitten you" come back to me often. I even say that to my own kids (and husband) on a regular basis. 

     I think those words ring true for a lot of us in our spiritual lives.  "If God were a snake He would have already bitten you." Many of us, actually I would say MOST of us want to know God and follow Him but there seems to be a disconnect that we just can't figure out. We go to church (some) we read books and maybe do Bible studies (when we have time), we try and have a "quiet time" (I hate that term by the way but that's for another day), we do all these "Christiany" things yet we often times still feel alone and like we just can't find him.  So many times this leads to frustration and doubts and then just giving up on God all together because He seems to allusive to us.  So here's the deal,  I think maybe we are looking in the right places but in the wrong direction. In Jeremiah 29 we have all heard the famous and much quoted verse about God knowing the plans for us and wanting good for us and we LOVE that!! And we should love that, it is very comforting and reassuring to know that our Creator has a good plan for us has not left us on our own and even more comforting to hear that He wants to share these plans with us and help us to be who He made us to be.  But if you keep reading there is more to it, verse 13 it states "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Did you hear that?  ALL YOUR HEART!! He didn't say you will seek me and find me when you make good choices or when you busy yourself with church things, or when you read every how-to Christian book out there.  He says that we will find Him when we seek him with all our hearts.  He just wants us, all of us, and He wants us to love Him and trust Him with everything that is precious to us.  That doesn't mean that we should stop going to church or never have a quiet time, it simply means that we need to be doing those things while looking in the right direction.  If we are doing those things as an attempt to impress God or as a check list to holiness then that's looking the wrong direction.  If we are doing those things as a way to look better for other people that's looking in the wrong direction. We are stepping over God in attempt to find Him.  He doesn't want us to be busy and overstretched and drowning in all the things we think we have to do.  He just wants us, all of us, our whole hearts.  That is how we will connect with God and in turn know His good (please keep in mind that our ideas of good are not always the same as God's) plans for us. Stop and breath, you are precious to God and He wants you.  He hates to see you striving so hard at things that are empty without Him. Breath and relax and remember.  We did nothing to earn His love and favor and we don't have to work in order to remain in His love and favor.  Grace and mercy are a beautiful and very freely given gift from God.  Please know that He is for you and He is the safest best place to rest.  He just wants us to look to Him and trust Him with all we have.  

     Please don't keep stepping over God with all the things that you think He wants from you.  He loves you and just wants you heart.  Don't let your busy Christian life rob you of a real actual relationship with the God who loves you!