We come from two families who like to have their backs
scratched. In Carol’s family, it was her grandmother who used to scratch
hard but good. In my family, it was my father who was the number one
back-scratcher. We used to say that Gramps was the best “scratch-backer”
around. All of the children and grandchildren looked forward to sitting
on his lap and having their back scratched. There was no debate about who was
best. We all enjoyed telling the story almost as much as having our back
scratched. Sitting on his lap and having his attention on us was
invigorating and peaceful - and a wonderful way to feel close to him.
Prayer is like sitting
on God’s lap and having God’s loving attention fall on us. I wonder what
some of father’s fondest memories of his times with the children and
grandchildren were? Now that I have the perspective of being a
granddfather myself, and enjoy the unique pleasure of having our granddaughter
sit on my lap and nuzzle her face into my chest, I can understand that my
father took as much pleasure in scratching our backs as we did.
The same is true
for God. God’s greatest delight in loving us is when we, in child-like
dependence and faith, climb into the Divine lap in prayer and simply spend time
together. When we stop racing around and rest our thoughts on God,
knowing that God is there to love us deeply, God receives as much pleasure as
we do. So take some precious moments today to sit on God’s lap and allow
God’s strength and peace to fill you and know that you are giving God great joy
as well.
God, remind me that
you have the best lap around and that I can come to you anytime and together we
will find rest. Amen.
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