Ben (my 3-month-old son) was supposed to be sleeping, but we all know how that goes… Anyway, I was up with Ben around midnight and he was wide awake and contentedly looking at everything around him. One of his favorite things to examine as of late has been his own feet. At first he’s just squirming and looking around in general, but at some point he flails his legs and he catches sight of them. His eyes go real wide like he’s surprised to see them and then he stares at them. I can see his eyes bounce from one foot to the other as they move around intermittently. It makes me smile to see Ben engaged and entertained as he explores the world around him.

At one point, Ben flailed his feet high enough that as he tracked them, he noticed my smiling face as I watched him. He immediately broke out into a huge grin that melted my heart. His smile has a way of dissolving my weariness and worry. Even if it’s just a couple moments, I know that he is comforted and feels safe.

This experience reminded me of the Aaronic blessing that I hear each week at the close of Sunday service. It flips the scene and puts me in Benjamin's place.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26.

What an image! My heavenly Father holding me in his loving arms and smiling at me as I squirm, struggle, and explore my way through life. He simply desires to be with me and it warms his heart when I take notice of him and understand that I am safe in his arms.

Now as sinful and wounded people, we often believe that if we met God's gaze, we'd see him angry or at least shaking his head in disappointment. But what if God is far better than we can ever dream of?  For today, just imagine that if you could just catch a glimpse of God right now, you'd see a tender Father smiling and delighting in you, his child 😊