I have been in the church all of my life. I grew up singing in the choir, ushering on
the usher board and sitting in prayer meeting with my parents. I’ve directed the choir, led praise &
worship teams, have spoken in different churches and even married a
preacher. So I know church liturgy and
how it all works. I understand how music can set the atmosphere for the spoken
word. I get all of that and am well
versed in it. But sometimes when I think
of Heaven, I don’t see it as this sweet by and by or when we all get there how
grand it will be. Nor do I see it as our ancestors
who were enslaved used to sing…”I got shoes, You got shoes, All of God’s
children got shoes, when I get to Heaven gonna put on my shoes and walk all
around God’s heaven”.
Maybe heaven is watching a baby sleep peacefully or bringing
a smile to an elderly person’s face.
Maybe heaven is a hug or an acknowledgement that “ I see you”.
Since I am in this 40-day season of focusing on the family,
I must share the piece of heaven that I experienced today.
The minister-of-music at our church is a fireball. Each Sunday, he leads us in praise &
worship, having meticulously rehearsed and coordinated with both the praise
& dance team. He spends a lot of
time throughout the week preparing for Sunday morning and even sacrificing his
family time so that Sunday’s production is on point. He is very much like my husband, who sees
Sunday morning as a major motion picture production that requires practice and
preparation. But today something
happened a little differently. Yes, he
opened up the worship service and coordinated the music throughout the entire
service. But something happened which
allowed me to see a little piece of heaven.
I was holding his one-year old son during our 11 am worship
service. (I think he likes to sit with
me because I’m noisy. We get to scream
and clap together and he doesn’t have to sit still.) He had been in my arms for 10-15 minutes
before my husband got up to preach.
Since the music was over and there would be no more dancing for us, he
got a little fidgety. I took him out to
change his diaper and let him walk around a little bit and we returned to our
seats. Upon sitting, he began to arch
his back and throw a fit to let me know that sitting still was not on his
agenda today. So as not to disrupt the
preaching moment, I scurried over to his mother, who was sitting on the front
row. He calmed down…right? Uh no, that little booger’s back got to
arching once again and he let everyone know that sitting was an unpleasant
experience. She started to rush him out,
but it caught her husband’s attention, who was still seated at the organ, and
he motioned for his son. What do you
think happened next?
Total calm! He sat on his lap, on the organ bench and
relaxed back into his daddy’s arms.
Then, with those big pretty eyes, he looked back at me as if to say, “
uh, this is what I wanted all along.”
Upon reflection, I realized that although his dad had done a great job
with the music, it didn’t matter to this precious little boy because the
greatest thing for him was finding that safe place to land…in his daddy’s arms. This is Heaven! Realizing that regardless of what else was
going on around him, all he knew was that he was with his dad. How simple, but how beautiful!
As we focus on our family during this time, take time to
recognize when all your child wants is you.
It doesn’t matter what your title is or what you do for a living, the
only thing your child needs is you. When you can take the time to recognize that;
it brings a confidence and a sense of calm in the child. It’s especially wonderful, when it’s a good
relationship between father and son.
Just this week, our older son was on a class trip to
Washington DC. Because I have all of his
apps and follow him on Instagram, I was able to see pictures of him throughout the
week. That was enough for me! But Daddy was another story. He kept asking had our son called or text. He tried to call several times, only to
receive no response. You could see the disappointment in his face. (We found out later, that his phone had
died.) Because I love and respect
the relationship between father & son, I text my son with a simple message,
‘call your daddy, I think he misses you’.
To which he replied, “yay”. Within
the hour, my husband received a call and as he told me about their
conversation, he was literally beaming from ear to ear. Heaven!
To all of the father’s reading this, please realize that
although your children may not express in words that you are needed…YOU
ARE. Mothers, even if you are not with
your child’s father…your child still needs him.
If there is a father that wants to be involved in his child’s life,
don’t hinder that. I could have gloated
to my husband and said, ‘Hahaha…my son wants to talk to me ” or the minister of
music’s wife could have snatched the baby up to prove a point…but we both
recognize that it’s a blessing when a father & son want to be in each
other’s presence.
Why did I go through all of this? I simply wanted to let you know that heaven
doesn’t have to be this pie-in-the-sky, when I get over there, but it can be
here and now in the eyes of your child.
During this 40- day journey, focus on the family, take time to recognize
the gift that you have in your children and take the time to let them know that
you care. All your child wants to know is…somebody
sees me. And if you show them love,
there will never be a need to look outside of your home for anyone else.
Now walk it out…
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