Watch Aaron in the film Holy Wars

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Earth to Aaron, holding your baby is more important than saving the world




I'm a dreamer. I can't help it. I was born that way. On my list of things to do before I die, I'd like to preach the gospel to millions of people, save the rain forest, end the Israel/Palestinian conflict, win an Oscar, and--I almost forgot--I'd like to bring peace on earth and goodwill toward men. I'm being a little facetious, but you get the point. Like many people, I want my life to count. The problem is that often times ambitious people like myself can lose our perspectives on life and become--shall I say--a little vain? So how do I pull myself back down to earth?

Enter into Aaron's world: an infant. Last week my eight week old son had a cold. We had to take him to the doctor twice. My wife and I were concerned about his breathing. The doctors gave us a nebulizer. As I sat down with my son blowing medicine up his nose, I had an epiphany. I realized that, at that very moment, I could care less about global warming and peace on earth. All I really cared about was seeing my son recover from his illness. For the past eight weeks, I've probably sat down hundreds of times to hold my son. I feel sometimes that having a child is God's way of forcing people to sit down and shut up. It's therapeutic.

Now that I think about it, Jesus taught that God is a perfect Heavenly Father. God's knowledge of His children is perfect, even to the number of hairs on their head. God has a much bigger to-do list than any human being could ever fathom, yet He takes the time to care for His children, and He's even jealous for their affection! Some find offense at the Bible's depiction of God as a jealous God. I think it's comforting. Who am I that I could demand such attention from the one responsible for governing the universe? I bet if I thought about this some more, my picture of God would get bigger, not smaller.

1 comment:

FreshGreenKim said...

Bravo, Daddy!

I used to say (nearly 15 years ago) that I was no longer saving the world enmasse, but one person at a time.

Enjoy your beautiful gift from God.

Breathe, because we have eternity, my friend. Enjoy the now.