Work That Matters,  Listening to Jesus

Attic: Lessons on Faith from My Children

whatsnext

“Daddy, can I go up in the attic with you?” I was preparing to do some rearranging up in our attic and my son, four year old C.J., was wanting to come up in the attic with me. Of course I told him yes, but I still had a few things to do before we could go up.

The following 10 minutes consisted of C.J. seeing how many times he could ask, “Can we go up in the attic now?” Over and over he asked me, “Can we?! Can we go up now? Can we go up in the attic now?” He was so excited. He had been up there before and was looking forward to another trip up into this apparently adventurous space.

Do you ever get excited about the future? Perhaps the Lord has blessed your business. Maybe you are starting a family or making a move to a new place. Possibly a promotion or job offer is in your future. If you are like me during these times, your prayer life increases and you cannot wait to see what God has in store for you. Like my son, patience is not your strong point and you just want to get into that next place in your life.

C.J. and I got up in the attic. I had him up there partly because he wanted to go, but I also had planned to get his help while he was up there. You are not going to believe what happened next. In less than 30 seconds, he asked, “Can I get down now?”

Are you kidding me!?! He was so excited about going up in the attic and as soon as he arrived, he was ready to leave! The following 10 minutes involved him attempting to ask “Can I get down now?” more times than he had asked to get up in the attic.

I wonder if we ever do this with God? I do. I pray for him to guide and direct me with some big event or situation in my life. I am praying for his will to be done, but really wanting it to be done as quickly as possible. Then I get where I wanted to be, thanks to him, and then I want to go back or at least onto the next thing. Often times, I don’t know what I want…or need. I wonder if this is as frustrating and unbelievable to God as it was to me in the attic that day?

Jud Wilhite says, “Love the calling you have, not the one you wish you had.” This is difficult. This is truth. Even if we know God has something ahead for us, we must learn to enjoy the waiting and love where we are, not where we are going.

May you and I become people who trust God right where he has us. May we love where we are and have the faith to patiently take the next step he has for us.

Hey, I’m Adam Suter. This is my personal blog. I am married to the love of my life, Michelle, and have three wonderful children. We live in Marietta, GA. I run a small nonprofit. Some of the things that fascinate me are faith, new ideas, people, stories, productivity, nonprofits, and my own children.

2 Comments

  • Trevor

    Great post Adam!
    John said something great during one lesson at Celebrate Recovery. “Looking at the Israelites of the Old Testament I often think ‘Why do they keep forgetting God? God keeps saving and rescuing them, providing for them, showing them incredible miracles, and in like two days they’ll build an altar and start worshiping something else. They are so dumb!’ …
    And I’m just like that”

Discovery Call

Thinking about coaching? Let's begin the conversation. Please click on the link above to email me and request a Free 15 minute Discovery Call.