Today's reflection is by Kari Jo Verhulst
Lutheran Chaplain at MIT and Pastor at University Lutheran Church
When
my daughter was 4, her favorite book was Watch
Me. In it, a child describes his day from waking to returning to bed,
instructing the reading at every turn to “watch me.” “I’m waking, watch me.”
“I’m dancing, watch me.” “I’m eating, watch me.” And so on.
To
us, her parents, the book grew monotonous quickly. But to our daughter, the
child’s open desire to be seen and noticed struck a chord, and bedtime after
bedtime she would act out each step of the boy’s day as we read, shouting at
us: “watch me!”.
Truth
be told, we didn’t always watch No parent can keep watch with the kind of
singularity that a young child can demand, which is probably for the best. But
in our better parenting moments, we gave her sufficient attention for the day,
and we tried never to shame or scold her for her desire to be seen.
“Hear
me!” the psalmist pleas. “Attend to my cry.” “Give ear to my prayer.” How
wonderfully presumptuous. Have you laid claim to God’s attention this way? With
the confidence and expectation of a young child, combined with the agitation of
grown up life? It’s worth a try. Channel your inner 4-year-old,
in moments of joy—“come see what I’ve made!” Or terror—“listen to me now!” Or
compassion—“listen Lord to your groaning world!” Or mundanity—“walk with me
this day.”
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