It's funny how I think of things to write when I'm with my daughter and can't really get to anything else-- I guess that's God's way of telling me to slow down; it's o k a y.
My daughter follows me everywhere. I'm headed to the bathroom? She's a few crawls behind me, making sure I don't get too far. I'm cooking dinner? She's right there under my feet, hoping for a little nibble.
As I type this on the coffee table, she's pulling at my shirt hinting she wants to be nursed. She's always with me, so it's no surprise that she wants to eat, breathe, smell, and be nestled under me at all times. And what an absolute blessing I have that I am able to be with her every day. I wouldn't change it for anything, but I'll be honest-- it can also be exhausting at times.
As I sat today on the rocking chair in the middle of dirty dishes in the sink and a half-cleared table after lunch, I stared into space as I watched my daughter crawl towards me. The world would describe her as a "clingy" baby, and then a thought came across my mind.
The Bible depicts this word and action as something entirely different. Rather, in my King James Bible, the word similar to cling is cleave. A baby naturally will cling onto their mother-- God created mothers to be everything to their child. Mothers are literally the living source for their babies for nine months; it makes sense that a baby would recognize them and be attached to them even after the womb.
And so I thought, as my daughter clings to me and follows me everywhere, making sure I'm always near-- shouldn't I be clinging onto the Lord in this way too?
I started searching all of the verses in the Bible that state the word "cleave", and to my surprise there were more than I thought! Here are a few I found:
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. ~ Genesis 2:24
But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day. ~ Deuteronomy 4:4
But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. ~ Joshua 22:5
But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day. ~ Joshua 23:8
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. ~ Romans 12:9
Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. ~ Acts 17:34
That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. ~ Deuteronomy 30:20
And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. ~ Ruth 1:14
Similarly, as a mother is the living source for her baby, Jesus is our living source throughout our entire lives. He provides, loves, nurtures and cares for us, giving an abundance of grace by each breath we take-- and so, are we cleaving onto Him as we are instructed to?
I find it quite funny that my daughter is persistent in getting to me. She will crawl quickly through obstacles and push toys out of the way just so she can get to me. Every corner I turn, there she is, trying to catch up with me and smiles when I see her. And there in her tiny hand is her little felt horse, handing it to me as if to tell me, "Mama come play with me."
I want to have that kind of relationship with the Lord. To be persistent in finding Him, making sure He is always within my sight and that He sees me reaching for Him.
Like my daughter, I want to be willing to move any obstacles and distractions out of my way and not let anything stop me from getting to Jesus.
In today's world, we have numerous distractions. social media, Sunday Night Football, binging on TV shows, gaming--- everything and anything is there to keep you distracted (ahem, I mean "entertained"), right?
These things aren't necessarily sinful, but we need to be careful that we don't let them consume our lives, or one day we'll wake up to have wasted it for things that don't matter eternally.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 1 Corinthians 10:23
As a new mother, this season is particularly difficult to schedule time for reading as I used to and really spending time with the Lord in His Word.
But then I thought-- how many times do I open up social media, or do other things on my phone, which add up during the day, and next thing I know, it's hours gone in a single day?
Someone recently said, "The Lord will meet you where you are."
We don't have to have it all perfect to spend time with the Lord with our hot cup of coffee by the lit candle (at least that's how I imagine it)-- we just have to use our time wisely and use the little pockets we have to pray or simply invite the Lord into our day. He understands the season we are in and will bless us and meet us in the midst of changing diapers, messy milk spills, etc. He will be right there with our children surrounding us.
The Lord showed me through my daughter what fellowship looks like with Him in this season-- simply looking for Him in the everyday moments wherever I am, as I take care of my little one whom He blessed me with.
May we desire His presence in our lives just like the deer pants for water.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. ~Psalm 42:1And may we not let anything stop us from reaching Jesus, just like the friends of the sick man did when they broke through the roof of a house to get Him to Jesus.
And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. ~ Mark 2:4-5
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