The Gift of Availability

One of those basic human needs is the need to be needed, and last night I experienced one of those moments with my daughter pictured at the left. The car she was driving overheated, and she pulled into a BP station. While waiting on the engine to cool, she called Dad. Of course, I jumped in the Trooper and went to her rescue. Never mind that I am not a mechanic. In fact, my automotive expertise and record would be more suited for a hall of shame than for the hall of fame. Still, it's Dad to the rescue!

The wonderful thing is that I had the privilege of spending time with my daughter. Certainly there were all kinds of other things I could have been doing. Unfortunately, too often our children think of us as too busy for them, especially as they get older. I wonder where they think they are on our list of priorities. I'm sure they believe our job is pretty high on the list, and they often feel like it is more important to us than them. What about other things? Do we make them feel like they are second place to our hobbies, sports, or entertainment, the computer or the TV? How often do they hear those words, "Not now, honey, Daddy's busy," or "Could we do that later, I tied up right now." Do we make them feel like an inconvenience instead of a treasure?

Sure my evening didn't turn out like I had planned. It turned out better than I had planned. So, this morning I want to thank God for his goodness and mercy. What looked like just an overheated car problem turned out to be an opportunity to be available to my daughter. Aren't you glad that our Heavenly Father is available when we need him. He's never out of town, never too busy, never distracted by cyberspace, and never back logged on email. He is available to us 24/7. There is an old song, I used to sing entitled, "Whenever I need Jesus, He's there."

The Psalmist puts it this way in Psalm 46:1,

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble. NLT

Whenever we are available to help, we model to our children what God, our Heavenly Father, is like. There is no substitute for being there! This Christmas in the midst of all the hustle to buy gifts and prepare for celebrations, let's remember to give the gift of availability.

Today, whatever your need is, I am convinced that God is both able and available to help you. In fact, maybe the need you have is there right now just because you and your Heavenly Father need to spend some time together. Have a blessed day!