Open Line
Last week I jumped on the trampoline with my grandson! We also slid down the slide together and I swung high in the air with my granddaughter on the swing. Today though...today we slid down one side of the roof. I wasn’t thrilled about that. We started off eating breakfast then the next thing I knew we were high above the South Texas landscape and weeee, down the slope we went. I have to admit my stomach was not happy.
My favorite times together are the trail rides we take and the evening ride home standing out the moon roof of the truck with the wind blowing and the sun setting...beautiful. Even washing dishes together makes the chore more enjoyable.
Sadly, these fun times are not actually hand-in-hand or even in the vicinity of one another. My grandkids are over five hours away from me. Face to face via the new fan-dangled phones these days, we can not only have fun conversation, we can enjoy watching each other and even share things together, sort-of.
Technology has come a long way and it can be a great tool to have. These days people are able to continue working and teachers are even holding lessons with their class while separated. I was able to have a wonderful time hanging out with two close friends at one time! It was so good to chat and laugh together. Each of us had missed seeing one another and it was hilarious to catch all three of us with crazy hair and pajamas. We just missed seeing each others face and it was salve to our hearts to be able to share those moments via the internet.
Today, help isn’t far away. We can easily call on our friends and family 24/7. If we need to hear a loved one’s voice, we can typically call to just say “hi”...
Long ago people we not as fortunate as we are today. We so often take things for granted. Putting off calling Mom could lead to the wrong decision between baking powder and baking soda, and not calling Dad, well, you may not get another chance. But talking to God is easy! He’s always available. Always listening. Waiting.
Used to be that people could NOT talk to God. They had certain channels they had to go through to even talk to His representatives; even they could only talk to God at certain time, once a year even.
Not anymore.
When Jesus died on the cross, and the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom, the lines to God were opened! No more channels, no more waiting! No “long-distance” charges and no roaming it’s an instant connection with no interference. 24/7, 365. It’s as if He reached down and severed that barrier Himself. I believe He did! That curtain was a tangible and visible message that Jesus had paved the way for us to have direct access to our Heavenly Father.
I’ve taken God on some crazy rides and I know He didn’t enjoy some of them, but He never hung up on me. And even today, I can just say, “hey” and He’s there for me. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I call on Him and He calms me back to sleep. I ask Him for help, and He’s always right there. Face-time is coming, and I’m excited for that. But in the meantime I’m grateful for the constant connection that I have with my Father through Jesus because I couldn’t get through one single day without it. He leads me, carries me, comforts and protects me. He’s my provider, my teacher, my friend, my confidant. I’ll never run out of minutes or data.
