God's Family Time

Yesterday was the memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary (held by Catholic tradition). They are such inspirational models of faith for us in this day and age. I can only hope to be a fraction as good of a father as Joachim, raising a daughter that was completely open to God's will in her life such that she would bear his Word more fully than any other created person ever. Though I have a LONG way to go to be such a man, we received quite a nice complement yesterday evening.

My wife and I enjoy going out jogging with our daughter in a stroller some evenings. As we were returning home one of our neighbors, who was driving by at the time, slowed down to say, "What a beautiful family!"
While I was flattered, I could only attribute any truth in that statement to God's grace and mercy.

These two events were a prompting to think about God's family and where I fit into His family. Then I thought, "Am I a very good son? How much time do I spend with God? Am I a regular part of the family? Does He enjoy my company as much as I enjoy that of my wife and daughter?" Then I started thinking more. How many of those who God has given life to spend much time with him? How many of us just get wrapped up in our work at times? How does God feel when he is ignored? How would I feel if my daughter paid no attention to me?

The other day, my wife mentioned to me how much she loves my daughter. I knew how she felt.  And if we love our children that much, how much more does God love us? How much time have we spent with our Heavenly Father today?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)