Love your God with all your heart.
I remember my mom coming into my room, the crust of sleep still covering my eyes. It was Sunday morning, time for church. My teenage pleas for staying home did not reach sympathetic ears. “You can sacrifice an hour,” my mom would say. “You can sacrifice an hour for God.”
Even while they called it a ‘Celebration of the Eucharist’, spending time before my creator was never positioned as a celebration. It was a sacrifice.
Fast forward thirty-some-odd years. While out visiting my mom for the weekend, each of my three children come to me independently and ask, “Are we going to be home in time for church this evening?”
Celebrate. Love your God with all your heart.
When I thought about hearts and love this morning, one of the first images that came into my mind was the famous I ♥ NY advertising campaign. The ads showed people frolicking at the beach, enjoying a baseball game, absorbing the majesty of a waterfall, soaring through the sky in a hot air balloon. Loving New York didn’t involve a deep emotional commitment. It meant having fun, enjoying the time, liking the experience.
Perhaps loving God with all of your heart needs to start there. You need to like him. Feel the rush. Thoroughly enjoy his presence. It seems strange to write this, but I need to love the Lord the same way I love playing golf, or soccer. The same way I love a nice dinner or a great action flick. With anticipation and self-enjoyment.
Delight yourself in the LORD.
So today as I reflect on what it means to love the Lord with all my heart, here are a few things that delight me.
Sunlight peaking through branches in the morning. When music is playing, I can center my attention on a single instrument, like the strum of a guitar, and actually feeling the vibrations. A cool breeze gently rolls over my shoulder on a hot summer evening, seemingly coming out of no where. While driving on the highway, the way the foreground moves rapidly while the background stays still, and you can adjust from speed to stillness by simply refocusing your eyes. Feeling alone and isolated, someone comes up, smiles and says ‘I’ve missed you so much, let’s have dinner together.” The stillness and peace before falling asleep.
Yes, it’s true. I ♥ God.
Even while they called it a ‘Celebration of the Eucharist’, spending time before my creator was never positioned as a celebration. It was a sacrifice.
Fast forward thirty-some-odd years. While out visiting my mom for the weekend, each of my three children come to me independently and ask, “Are we going to be home in time for church this evening?”
Celebrate. Love your God with all your heart.
When I thought about hearts and love this morning, one of the first images that came into my mind was the famous I ♥ NY advertising campaign. The ads showed people frolicking at the beach, enjoying a baseball game, absorbing the majesty of a waterfall, soaring through the sky in a hot air balloon. Loving New York didn’t involve a deep emotional commitment. It meant having fun, enjoying the time, liking the experience.
Perhaps loving God with all of your heart needs to start there. You need to like him. Feel the rush. Thoroughly enjoy his presence. It seems strange to write this, but I need to love the Lord the same way I love playing golf, or soccer. The same way I love a nice dinner or a great action flick. With anticipation and self-enjoyment.
Delight yourself in the LORD.
So today as I reflect on what it means to love the Lord with all my heart, here are a few things that delight me.
Sunlight peaking through branches in the morning. When music is playing, I can center my attention on a single instrument, like the strum of a guitar, and actually feeling the vibrations. A cool breeze gently rolls over my shoulder on a hot summer evening, seemingly coming out of no where. While driving on the highway, the way the foreground moves rapidly while the background stays still, and you can adjust from speed to stillness by simply refocusing your eyes. Feeling alone and isolated, someone comes up, smiles and says ‘I’ve missed you so much, let’s have dinner together.” The stillness and peace before falling asleep.
Yes, it’s true. I ♥ God.
.
If you care to share, I am interested in hearing... what delights you?
2 comments:
i like the the low summer evening sunlight. baby's smiles. cat purrs. feeling good. when my daughters get along together.
great list Nancy. Thank you for sharing!
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