One of the frustrating things about being a grandparent is the realization you can never convey how much you love your grandkids. And often, that love seems lost on them.
Three-year-old Emma doesn’t smile—she glows. And when she giggles, you giggle too. Because you can’t help it. So, we love to remind her and her sister, Ava, how much we love them.
Recently, I said, "Emma, I love you so much. I'm really glad to be here with you! It's just so fun going camping together with you." I'm sure I showered her with more comments than that, even.
And how did Emma respond? Did she squeeze me with a big hug? No. Did she say, “I love you, too?” Nope. Instead, she asked, “Are my shoes on the right feet?”
A tad bit underwhelming. Not the response I was hoping for. But then again, that’s kids.
That’s also big kids like us—who should know better. Our Heavenly Father regularly showers us with loving statements like Jeremiah 31:3, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." And we reciprocate, mumbling something like, "Wish the Bible readings in my daily devotional weren’t so long.”
Our Heavenly Father says He loves us so much, in Zephaniah 3:17, He says He will "rejoice over you with singing." But our lives are so noisy that we rarely hear the song.
So personal is this love that Isaiah 49:16 proclaims, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” But rarely do we look for His hands.
When was the last time we told God we loved Him—not for His gifts or blessings, but for who He is? He's taken great pains to use eloquent language to convey how much He loves us. I'm thinking we can come up with a better response than "Are my shoes on the right feet?"