Let's Eat, Daddy!

Around 5 or so Coralyn starts asking for snacks. Well, let me rephrase that. She starts asking for more snacks. I think the child would eat all day if I let her. Granted, she asks for healthy things to eat, but still...

And then there's the never-ending, "I want something else, Mommy!" Usually something else means raisins. Why she doesn't just get straight to the point, I don't know.

Because I can't let her eat non-stop, at some point I have to tell her, "No. Nothing else right now. We're not having anything else until Daddy gets home. When he gets home, we'll eat supper."

So as soon as Lawrence walks through the door, she runs/bounces/hops to greet him. "Daddy!" she exclaims with loads of excitement. Before she can even finish giving him a hug, she is calling out, "Let's eat, Daddy!" and running back into the kitchen. She's on her chair, fork in hand, waiting for him to at least take off his coat so we can all sit down and eat supper as a family. It's all she can do to wait for me to dish up everyone's food on to our plates. And then taking a few more seconds to pray. Whew! Almost more than she can handle, or so she thinks.

Not only does Daddy coming home mean that we get to eat supper, it also means that she gets to read book after book after book after book. After she has inhaled her food, she announces, "All done, Daddy. Let's read books." She rushes into the living room and comes back to the kitchen book in hand, ready for him to read with her. Once again, she has to wait. His fork has barely had the chance to pick up a bite of food, let alone make it all the way to his mouth. And forget chewing!

On days when the weather is really nice, Coralyn might forgo both eating and reading and go straight to, "Let's jump on the trampoline, Daddy" or "Daddy, let's go to the park."

With our first and only snow, Daddy coming home meant she got to go outside and play!

Whatever the case may be, Daddy coming home means something good for Coralyn.

On this particular evening, we were downstairs when Lawrence got home.

So while I finished supper, Coralyn and Daddy had some tea.

We got a blow-up globe in the mail. I told Coralyn when Lawrence got home he would blow it up for her.

As soon as he walked in the door, "Blow this up Daddy," as she hands him the deflated globe.

And then when it was ready, "Let's play ball, Daddy."

At least he got to change into some more comfortable clothes first, this time.

I wonder what her reaction to Lawrence walking through the door would be if there wasn't any promise of food, books, or play time. Would she still be as excited to see her Daddy? Or would the thrill of his arrival be diminished?

Of course this got me thinking :)

How often do I go to God because I want something from Him? How many times do I want His gifts or blessings rather than God Himself? I get so caught up in what I get from God that I forget to just enjoy being with Him, spending time in His presence with no other agenda except to BE with Him. No urgent requests. No questions about what the future may hold. No complaints about the present situation. No looking ahead or wishing for something better to happen. Just cherishing the moment right then. Simply sitting with Him and being quiet, resting and allowing Him the opportunity to give me the biggest blessing of all - Himself!