Skipping for Daddy!

A man and his little daughter were taking a leisurely walk in a park on a sunny Sunday afternoon, spending some quality family time together . As they walked, the man noticed that his young daughter was skipping all around him. When he could bear it no longer he asked her why on earth she was skipping like that. To which the little girl replied happily,"I'm skipping because you're my daddy!"

I can totally identify with this young lady. I've found myself skipping at odd moments and in staid company too! Walking on the road with colleagues or friends, my heart would suddenly fill with happiness at the lovely summer weather, the gentle balmy breezes and the laughter and chatter around me. And involuntarily I would skip while bemused onlookers stared with sniggering whispers at this 30-year old woman hopping around around like a frisky lamb in verdant meadows!

Yeah, I know I'm weird! but tell me, when was the last time you skipped, hopped or jumped oblivious to all around you, just to express some unknown happiness that welled up in your heart? All of us have those moments....when you're watching the first raindrop hit the dusty leaves in your garden, when you suddenly realise the beauty of a single rosebud, when you fly a kite and it stays up longer than your friends, when you watch the clouds lined with silver from an airplane for the very first time, when you're eating cotton candy with carnival music in the background, when a yawning little puppy wriggles in your arms, when a stranger in a crowd smiles at you for no reason, when you unexpectedly run into a long-lost friend, when you're sitting cosy with a favourite book and a cup of coffee, when somebody you like sends you flowers, when the weather is perfect and you're on a long drive, when a baby's tiny fingers close around your own holding on for dear life......so many of life's little moments.

At these nostalgic moments do you express yourself or force down the joy welling up inside of you? Is appearing professional, sober and capable more important to you than being able to spontaneously express yourself? If you answered yes, think again. Each of the moments described above and many others have a bit of God in them. Remember He gave us the gift of life so that we may enjoy it, not tolerate it. He wants us to appreciate the little things in life that He so thoughtfully sends us. He desires our hearts to puff up with the joy of having seen God paint His canvas every dawn and dusk with beautiful silvers, pinks, greys and blues. He yearns for us to burst into song at the sound of chirping birds, gurgling babies and babbling brooks. He longs for us to break out into uncontainable excitement everytime His love hits us hard in the face. He waits for us to lapse into awed silence when confronted with the majesty of the works of His hand. And we.....disappoint Him every time.

What's that you say? You have nothing to skip about? Romans 8:15 says, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Like the little girl, we too can skip simply because He's our daddy! To completely grasp how the King of the Universe, this VVVVVVVIP person, this awesome Creator God can love us enough to allow us to call him 'Abba' is beyond us. But then who's asking you to understand it? Simply celebrate it and skip a little bit today!