I had a friend as a guest this weekend. My husband entered the house, sat down in the lazy boy, then said, “I smell smoke… like fire.” I was sitting at the kitchen table typing on my computer. The kids kept playing. My friend looked at me, shocked. She asked Don where he smelled smoke. She started running around the house and sniffing in all directions. Her eyes were like saucers as she finally got so frustrated with us that she said, “Can I get some action here? He smells smoke and we are just sitting! Is there one Type A in this room who could help me out?” Don and I started laughing.
I know my husband (after 30 years) so well that I knew there was no fire. I knew he smelled something odd. My 10-year-old daughter felt badly for my friend and started to help come up with a solution. She finally determined that the smell was from Don’s shirt. He had cleaned the grill. Case closed; no fire.
This is how well we have to know our kids. We have to know what makes them tick; we have to know what motivates them, scares them, and what causes them to strive to meet their potentials. We not only need to know what motivates them but why it motivates them. We need to understand why they act in certain ways. This takes a lot of patience, listening and observing. But when we care enough to take the time, they know it. We understand what they need and we respond to those needs. They in turn respond with gratitude by trusting us.
It is no different with God. When we spend time with him, observe him and listen, we begin to understand that he is inviting us to share in his plans and how we can respond. God already has it down -- he knows us inside and out. After all, he created us. When we come to realize that God understands us and loves us just as we are, we trust him more. In the end, we all just want to be understood. We want to be invited to share in his plan. Because when we are understood and accepted, it is proof to us that we are loved.
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