“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35
“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”
Luke 6:12
“I want mine plain.”
“I want maple syrup.”
“I want nutella on mine.”
“I want real maple syrup.”
“My maple syrup is real.”
“No, it’s not, it’s fake.”
“I can see it and eat it, it’s not fake.”
Pancakes. All my grandchildren love them, but they all like them a little bit differently. I had occasion to spend time with all of my grandchildren recently. Not for a special occasion, no big family dinners to plan, no clean up or adults to pay attention to. Just normal days, for fun, enabling me to focus on the kids, just the children. I could watch their interactions, see their individual tastes, fears, loves, likes and indifferences. It was fabulous time.
It was non-productive time, according to the world’s standards, but eternally gratifying and relationship building time none-the-less. We accomplished nothing, but now I know who likes what hairbrush, who fears darkness, who prefers to be alone, who can’t wait to grow up, and who wants to be little forever.
And they know me better, too. They know I can sit down. They know I will come running if they scream, if the room seems too dark or too hot. They know I am afraid of bugs, I love books and I prefer clean, dry hands to sticky ones. They also know a sticky hug is better than no hug at all. They know I will sit and read stories for hours, who cares about bedtime.
They know the essential me. And I know more about the essential them because we spent time together. We didn’t do anything important, but everything we did was important for growing closer to each other. For learning each other. For loving each other.
Time. Time is essential for relationships.
You can be far away and still spend time on someone. You can be rich or poor and still spend time. You can be sad or happy, confident or insecure, hungry or full and still spend time. Jesus must have been tired at times, but he still considered time with God worth spending. In fact, Jesus acted like time with God was more important than time sleeping and eating.
What kind of message would you be sending to God and others if you started spending more time on God than on your phone? How would your relationship with God change if you talked with Him more than you talked with your best friend?
Let’s face it, you know your best friend because you have spent time together, talking and learning each other. Your friend’s responses and reactions, their facial expressions and verbal expressions don’t surprise you because you have come to know them so well. You have spent time on them. Extravagant, expensive time, worth every penny of relationship interest. Don’t you want to know God that well?
The question is really simple, not intended to provoke guilt or rigidity, just relationship. Do you want a relationship with God? a better relationship with God? It will cost you. It will cost you time. It will cost you the effort of getting to know what God is really like, not on the big holidays, but on a normal, average day. I dare you to spend enough time with God to figure out what He likes on His pancakes.
We are deep into the fall and apples are appearing fresh from trees. From applesauce to apple cider to apple fritters the fragrance of apples is in the air. Knowing what kind of apple a person likes is another way to expand relationships. My grandchildren have strong opinions about apples. Green or red? Sweet or tart? From New York or from North Carolina?
Instead of a recipe this week, I want to encourage you to try an apple tasting party with your family and friends. Purchase several different types of apples, slice them and number them so that you are the only person who knows what variety each apple really is. Allow each person to try the various slices, marking their favorites on a piece of paper. It can be fun to list the varieties of apples at the top of the paper, asking people to choose their favorite apple before the taste test. Did the variety they thought they liked end up being their favorite?
Turn the tasting party into a light meal by serving charcuterie board style offerings after the tasting. Apples and cheeses, grapes, pepperoni and salami, crackers and specialty breads pair nicely with an evening of apple tasting.
Copy the following taste test for as many apple varieties as you want to use.
Apple #1
- Color:
- Sweetness:
- Texture:
- Don’t Like 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Love!
Apple #2
- Color:
- Sweetness:
- Texture:
- Don’t Like 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Love!
