A Parent's Joy

This past Saturday’s snow was pure joy.  I’ll admit that I was beyond excited at the prospect of finally getting a decent snow, especially after last weekend’s disappointment.  Such was my excitement that I woke at 5am to eagerly look out the window like a child hoping for a snow day off from school.   My heart was overjoyed when I saw that the forecast was coming true. 

But, the most joyous part was watching my son and a merry motley crew of neighborhood kids playing in the snow.  One fourth grade girl drew faces on the trees; a group of boys played a game of “tackle”-ish football; and the little boy next door was too l

ost in the simple wonder of catching snowflakes in his mouth to even notice anyone else. 

What these children had in common was that they were all filled with joy. I took a step back to observe the moment and let it fill my heart with gladness. There are very few things that bring more delight than seeing children—especially our own children—lost in the joy of just being alive. As I reflected on this, I had an insight: “I bet God feels this way watching us.”

There are numerous scripture verses that tell us God is our loving parent and we are God’s beloved children. So if I feel this way about my child’s joy, or even other people’s children, how much more does God delight in ours? The prophet says: “The Lord your God is in your midst... he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (NRSV, Zeph. 3:17).

Too often we can get caught up in unhealthy images of God as distant, cold, angry, or always snooping around judging us. But scripture and our experience reveal the truth: in the same way we delight in watching children playing in the snow, God feels a parent’s joy watching us—especially if we play in the snow, too.