God cares about our dolls

I have the day off from work today, which is a beautiful thing for me.  The more time that I can take to process where the Lord is leading me and what He is speaking to my heart, the better I feel.  I started my day with a pancake breakfast at Chip's in Orange, Connecticut, where I shared breakfast with two wonderfully important people to me.

While we were eating, a young father and his daughter entered the restaurant and sat at the table adjacent to ours.  The man was good looking and clearly spent a good portion of his time at the gym.  He was a giant of a man and despite my size, he probably could have swatted me like a fly.  The three of us looked over to this man almost simultaneously and saw him holding a Barbie doll in his hands.  He was straightening the doll's hair and gently positioning the doll so she would be as comfortable as could be.  The man was very serious about the doll's comfort.  His daughter watched on as he made adjustments to the doll's hair and positioning.  It seemed as if the father cared more about the placement than the daughter did.  I can imagine the conversation now.  "Just put that anywhere, Daddy, it's fine."  "No, honey, it has to be just right."

We were all touched by the moment, so touched by this father's love.  In my work, I see the effects of fatherlessness on society.  I hear awful stories of those abandoned by their fathers, children left to fend for their families before they were legally able to drive.  Reflecting upon my past experiences and the testimonies of others, I found this father's compassion and dedication impressive.  (I am rather uneasy that our society is surprised and impressed by compassionate and dedicate fathers.  Shouldn't that be the norm?)

This morning's story pointed me back to the Lord.  I think of the Lord, much stronger and more powerful than  the world's strongest man, caring about the things that are meaningful to me.  God loves me so much that He is willing to play with "my dolls:" my career, my relationships, my talents, my desires and so on.  In my brokenness, I haphazardly place these things where they seem to fit for me.  Yet in His mercy, God cares about me enough to adjust their positions perfectly.  The Lord is so passionate about me, so proud of His son that He lavishes His love upon me (1 John 3:1) by caring about my own life more than I can care about it.  I think this is why Jesus says, "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it" (Luke 17:33).  The Lord delights in the way of those who trust Him (Psalm 37:23). We cannot care more about ourselves than the Lord does.

If we insist upon being self sufficient, we will find that our doll's hair will not be nearly as straight or her body as perfectly positioned as our Father would have straightened and positioned it.  Lose your life and you will find it.  True story.