all caught up

I just got off the phone with one of the nearest and dearest friends I will ever have. I had started a couple different blog posts in the past couple weeks, but none of them felt authentic in the way writing should, poignant in the way words can be, or timely in the way God is a part of it. This post is authentic, poignant and timely because it’s what I’m living, thinking, breathing as I type.

So here it goes. I don’t know where you’re at in the world or where you’re at with God but there is something he taught me that he might just want to re-teach you tonight.

Due to the fact that I have moved a couple times and because there are several friends of mine that have moved as well, there are relationships that have to be nurtured despite lengthy distance. It takes time, effort and supernatural skills in scheduling to keep a relationship growing and thriving at a distance. Often, I find myself on the line with a great friend playing catch up to how her job is going, what she did for her birthday, and maybe (if there’s time) what God has been teaching her lately. As badly as I wish there was a way I could do life with her, know the ins and outs of her daily triumphs, and be there to pray in person at each mishap, I just can’t. But it’s okay.

If a long-distance friend would've called me tonight and asked about each aspect of my life (my job, my husband, being close to my family) all of those answers would be ‘great!’ There just happens to be numerous circumstances in my life that are each, simultaneously, going well. It’s a great season. New? To be sure. Exciting? To say the least, but great- all in all.

But fortunately, the phone call tonight wasn’t from a long-distance friend. She was as present in spirit and in love as anybody ever has been. After asking me how things were going, I found myself answering by traveling down several different rabbit trails that eventually led to her asking even more questions, more probing, with more effort to try and understand.

And that’s when I said it out loud. I feel distant from God and I’m treating him like a long-distant friend. It finally hit me that I had been approaching God as if I was playing catch up. I wasn’t spending enough time with him. I wasn’t listening. My prayers were half-hearted. And I was dishing out empty promises that somehow put me back even further in the catch-up line.

God doesn’t play catch up. And he doesn’t need us to either. He’s been that friend doing life with me, experiencing the ins and outs of my daily triumphs, and wishing I’d pray about each mishap. He knows what’s new with me and here’s the crazy part- there’s nothing new with him. He’s the same. He’s still present. He’s still powerful. He’s still perfect. He’s still God.

He’s been quietly waiting, patiently hoping that I’d realize there’s no catching up to do. There’s not enough Bible verses to read, devotions to ponder, deep conversations to have, or church to attend to make myself more presentable in the eyes of my God.  Right where I am is the closest I could ever be. And it feels good to be all caught up.