Through the years

I am smiling as I watch my nephew playing basketball down at the park; smiling because it is good to see him up here and because I realize I've been watching him do this for a very long time.

When he was first down there with a ball, he was all of six and struggling to t h r o w that ball high enough to skim the bottom of the net.

As the years went on and he grew, his shots got higher and better. He would spend hours down there playing with whoever happened along; he's even let me play a few games of "horse" with him. All that practice made him so good that he played competitively as well.

And this morning I see he still picks up a ball; he is still down there taking the shot and making the layup, still engaged, still practicing, still improving.

This reminds me of our own walk with the Lord and how, from practice through many years, we also grow in how we relate to God. Listen to the prayer requests of the primary set and you'll hear their hearts for their friends, grandma, or puppy; coming to God's throne fully confident they can ask for anything and that God will take care of it and that God understands their desire for that newest toy.

Listen to the needs of young adults for perspective and wisdom in decisions about their future and now the tone is much more serious, more than a puppy with a hurt paw is on the line.

Evesdrop on the prayers of adults and hear them asking God to protect their children and their decisions; hear them asking that their grandchildren be drawn to God and that they themselves will leave a faithful legacy for their children to follow.

I can't help but wonder when God sees us on our knees now if He remembers all the requests through the years, from the requests of a child's heart to the concerns we now carry. Does it please Him also to see us still "playing ball" with Him? Still looking to him to provide for our needs?

I'm reading a book about evangelism and how valuable each soul we encounter is to God and how He longs to have a relationship with His created ones. A relationship,not at encounter, not something we've dabbled in once, or occasionally, but a relationship that continues and grows.

So when you're with God today reflect for a moment how familiar a place this is; how comfortable the floor feels beneath your knees and your Bible in your hands. Relish in a God who has sustained you for years and will continue to do so because He's promised "I will be your God throughout your lifetime--until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you." (Isaiah 46:4)