Excited Inside
Tom and I have a 13 year old grandson named Tony. He doesn’t attend church except when he spends the night with us on Saturday nights.
When he was younger he loved attending the children's church, ages K-6th grade. Now that he’s older, we told him he needs to sit in the adult service with us. I waited for "the face" but to my delight he said, "No problem."
He sat by us through the service, and he actually looked like he was listening in a squirmy-kid kind of way. After the service, Tony decided to ride home with me. It takes me forever to get out the church doors after a service so I told Tony to wait for me in the foyer.
He said, "What's that?" This was a normal question for a kid who doesn’t attend church regularly.
I pointed the way to the foyer and off he went to wait for me. I tried my best to hurry things along knowing he was probably bored sitting on the bench waiting. When I finally made my way to the foyer, I couldn't find him. I thought he must be waiting in the car. Then I looked towards the door and saw him. He was holding the door for people as they went out, smiling like he belonged.
In the car on the way home, this kid, basically non-churched except for us, says to me, "Nana, I don't know what it is, but I feel kind of...excited inside. It's really a good feeling." He was all smiles.
I told him, "Tony, I think that excited feeling is because you experienced the presence of the Lord—His peace and His joy."
He said, "Yeah, that's it!"
There was nothing more that could thrill my soul than to hear a grandchild say those words.
Can you imagine how much more our Heavenly Father is thrilled when we are excited to be in His presence? Just think! We have access to Him all the time!!! I’m excited inside just thinking about it.
Spend time with Him! It's worth the time and effort. You'll see.
"...I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight." (Psalm 16:11 NET)