Danny Dog

When my oldest son was small, I arranged to give him moments of undivided attention, my time in his world, to watch or participate, as he desired. Usually a Husky puppet named Danny Dog joined our brief moments together. Danny Dog interacted with my son who, over and over would beg, "Mom, let's play Danny Dog." I confess now that the effort to scare up uninterrupted time was difficult; I was often impatient to get back to "my" day.

My son is 19-years old now and navigating the exciting world of college, but Danny Dog still sits on a shelf in a mostly vacant bedroom in my home. Though he does not live at home, my son will not dispose of Danny Dog, so important to his childhood and our early relationship. Nor would I.

Lord, grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit to calm our hearts and sharpen our gaze so that we do not miss opportunities to simply love and be present to the children and adults you place in our lives. Give us listening hearts through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Questions:

• Do you arrange uninterrupted time with God?
• Do you allow for unstructured time when you are not petitioning Him or talking to Him but simply resting in His presence?

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• relationships