There You Are! | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: There You Are! | Previous Challenge Entry
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05/01/06
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It was a forgettable moment that I’ll never forget.

I was talking to a woman at a basketball game, a young mother. Suddenly her little girl was standing there in front of us, and this young mother sparkled with delight as she turned toward her daughter and said, “There you are!”

I thought, “What a greeting! I would love to be greeted like that. Why, I would feel special all the time – as if people had been looking for me, couldn’t wait to see me, and were overjoyed when suddenly, there I was!”

I have heard people talk about their dogs, that when they arrive at home, no one else may care, but their dog is always excited to see them.

My kids are all old and boring now, but I remember when they were little, and I would come home from work, they would all run to the door and it was like a party every day. “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!”

One of my favorite memories is the night I came home and my youngest daughter jumped out from behind the door and doused me with a bucket of confetti!

What if we always greeted each other with such joy? It changes the color of the room.

“There you are!”

I remember years ago visiting a little country church. I had become friends with the old pastor, and he invited me to a concert there with his all-time favorite group: “Heaven Bound.” That night I met the leader of the group, Jeff Gibson. He was very nice and friendly and genuine.

Fast forward a year, when the pastor had another concert with, who else, Heaven Bound. And I’ll never forget Jeff Gibson, still smiling as if he had been smiling all year, approaching me, shaking my hand, calling me by name, and seemed genuinely glad to see me again. He said with a smile and a handshake what the young mother had said with words: “There you are!”

I think of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. That son was trouble. Kind of a jerk. Good riddance. And yet his father loved him and watched and waited for him to come home. When the boy ran out of money and his life was a wreck, he decided to go back. Luke 15:21 picks up the story, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” The father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Let’s have a feast and celebrate!”

Did the son deserve such a greeting? Not at all. But the father poured it on anyway, out of the love that flowed through his heart for his son.

That story illustrates God’s love for us, even when we don’t deserve it. And God wants us to love each other like He loves us. And one way we can show love to each other is to simply be glad to see each other…and show it.

And for me it all goes back to that forgettable moment I’ll never forget, when that young mother sparkled with delight and said to her little girl, “There you are!”

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