God is our Dad

We definitely can hear from God. He speaks in countless ways unique to each of us and He sure does surprise me on many occasion, like this morning. As I turned off the main path in the forest preserve so that I could be alone, I asked God to speak to me. I said I needed counsel, but then I said I was open to whatever it was He wanted me to know. I also made it clear that I didn't want to hear my own thoughts, but only His! I went to this big slab of cement that is kind of off the beaten path and I sat on it because it was directly in the sun. That felt wonderful and I was tempted to lay on it and would have, except that it was soaked with wet moss and my feet were already slightly wet. (Just setting the scene for you). So, I sat there and focused on God, waiting...and then got distracted by a leaf with snow on it...and then went back to focusing on God so I wouldn't miss anything...and then thought about lying on the wet moss anyway...and so it went for several minutes until IT...HE...came to me. I'm not even sure, writer though I am, that I can explain it with words but I'll try because the message here is important. God said, "Do what it is you want to do" in the kindest, most tender and soft way, and I could hear the smile in His voice. I KNEW instantly what He meant. What I really wanted to do was sit and soak in the sun and not think too much. What I really wanted to do was walk beneath the blue sky and feel the cold air on my face. WHAT I REALLY WANTED TO DO WAS LOOK FOR BEAUTY TO PHOTOGRAPH! It was the true desire of my heart at that moment.  God was telling me to just be me. Real, peeled back me. He was saying to come away with Him and explore. He was saying that HE LOVES WATCHING ME (Awe man, cry me a river with that one). He was saying that he grieves that I feel I have to BE all the time...STRIVE...FORMULATE... REASON...CONQUER...SOLVE...BE GOOD.  He said, "Stop and go take your photographs, daughter. It makes me happy and that's what I want." What a lesson! Of course, I cried and told Him how much I complicate Him, sometimes. He stayed with me as all that I can't put into words sunk in and took root in my heart. See? I pray you do. GOD SPEAKS. He is a DAD. He is not standing near you with a scowl and a booming voice, with His staff raised ready to clobber you. Let me say again, He is many things and there are no words to adequately describe who He is, but please don't forget that HE IS YOUR DAD. I was all ready to hear some deep words of wisdom and instead I heard, "Do what it is you want to do." I have embraced the depth of that unlikely wisdom, today! It's called freedom. He actually LIKES ME! Seriously, there is NO ONE in all the universe like Him. He parted the Red Sea, gave Moses the Ten Commandments, sent His Son to us, and likes to watch me take photographs.
May you not just know ABOUT God, but may you EXPERIENCE Him as well.