Abundant Life

My wonderful family and I just took a family trip to Culvers to enjoy some quality desserts. On the way back, we stopped at Wal-Mart for a diaper refill. Instead of getting Avery out of her car seat and having all of us go in, I dropped Ashley off at the front door and waited in a nearby parking spot. As I was waiting, I began to think about the reality of God being with us. Now, if I were to ask nearly everyone reading this if they believe God is with them, they would most likely say "yes". However, when was the last time you took 10 minutes to simply think about what it means that God is right beside you-or better yet, inside of you? The God who placed the stars in the sky and knows each one by name is with you at this very moment. The God who can hold all of the oceans in the palm of his hand is smiling at you. The more I thought about this, the more amazed I became. As I was driving home, I couldn't stop thinking about how miraculous it is that God is always with us. I noticed that when I am aware of His presence, the little things that usually annoy me don't really matter (bad drivers!). As we got home, I put Avery in the bath tub and took my usual place perched on top of the bathroom sink watching her play in the water. The tradition has been that she plays with her toys, and I lazily sit there and watch her (sad, huh?). Again, I began thinking about how God was with us right there in the bathroom. As I was thinking about His presence, I heard him whisper to my heart that He was on his hands and knees playing with Avery. I instantly got up from my comfortable and lazy position and began playing with Avery's bath toys. She laughed the whole time. I laughed the whole time. It was a blast! It was a result of just being aware of God's presence and what He may be doing in a given situation. When we live with an awareness of the Holy Spirit, every day life turns into the abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10. Try it. Pause and take a few moments to enjoy the presence of God. Talk to Him. Ask him questions. Listen for his sweet words.

Jesus, help us to be aware of your amazing presence. Open our eyes to see you and open our ears to hear you. Teach us to experience this abundant life you created us for.