I Need You!

I need you, Muckpie! I need you! Let me tell you right now that my heart melts when my 1 year-old (soon to be 2) granddaughter throws up her arms and utters those sweet words. How can a Grammie (aka Muckpie), resist those simple terms of endearment? This one can't. I was reading Matthew 6 yesterday and it is so rich with the simplicities of faith. And really, don't we serve a simple God? One who allows us to jump on His lap with arms stretched out declaring, I need you, I need you! I was praying the other day and a picture came to mind of Jesus, throwing open the curtain, so to speak...laughing with joy, to expose the throne room! A room where I have access to the very presence of God. A play room for my heart! A place where there is joy, love and, well, simply grace!

Spend some time in Matthew 6 and here is what you'll find. We have a good Father in heaven. He is approachable, he gives good things to His kiddos, He tells us not to worry about anything (especially the basics...like food, clothes, bills to pay, jobs). He says He's got it all covered. He knows what we need before we ask, but He wants us to ask (now if I am honest, I think I would have to admit that sometimes I wished my kids would STOP asking). Think of your best parenting moment...or if you aren't a parent, the best parented moment in your life. Whether on the giving or receiving end...how did you feel? Was there love, joy, sacrifice, pleasure all rolled into one instant? Oh that I could really, really get it. The love of God shed abroad in my heart. Because He is the author of parenthood! He invented it, and what a brilliant invention...because it lets me peek into His heart for me! Even though my best parenting moment is just a period at the end of a boring sentence...compared with His soul piercing, shame blasting, unfettered love for me, for you, for us, forever!

All of us get this glimpse, because we all know the value of our loved ones, we have families. We have children, nieces, parents, grandparents, siblings. We know that, at the end of the day, whatever else has occurred...it's our family that matters the most. It is the unseen, but oh, so very felt, love that withstands all of the assaults of this world. And that it the simple message Jesus came to give us. That indeed, we have a Father in heaven...who loves us even more than we can fathom, but He wants us to know. He wants us to get it, experience His heart...and so His Son, made it possible for us to dance our way into the throne room...curtain opened...God's heart revealed...us on His lap...hugging His neck...there's joy, laughter, grace...and mostly love!

And today especially, as we celebrate Memorial Day, a day where we honor the fallen friends, family and total strangers, who've paid the ultimate price for us, we understand sacrificial love! It's deep and weighty. It's a love for our country, our freedom, our families. A love that lays down everything held so precious and dear so that me and you can continue to live a simple life of freedom, hope and peace. And in this same place, where there is appreciation and gratitude, if we lift our eyes...we can see Jesus. He's in the sacrifice. He's in the loss. He's in the fear. He's in the pain. He's in the honor. He is the freedom, He is the hope. He is the peace. He is the joy. Because He stretched out His arms and paid the ultimate price. He just wants me to say, I need you. Everyday, for everything, it's pretty simple. The curtain is open.