He's always present and He's always listening

All of the kids in the room quickly gathered around the glass display case, where the scientist in the oversized blue lab coat promised to "turn air into a solid." The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is a massive place with many different rooms and exhibits for young and old to explore. My kids were particularly drawn to the science experiment in the Earth and Space room. If I'm being honest, I was just as fascinated and excited as the kids to see the promised feat of gas becoming solid. I had to take a few steps back from the display case to snap the above photo and also to cut down on the number of angry onlooking parents whose kids I elbowed out of the way trying to get a prime viewing spot.

Despite growing up in a science hub (Oak Ridge, TN), I've never had a mind for science. As a matter of fact, I'm the guy that took 12 hours of a foreign language (Yo hablo espanol, mis amigos) in college, to avoid one 3 hour science class. Hence the BA on my degree, rather than the BS. All of that being said, I can't recall the exact steps or the process the guy in the blue lab coat took, but I'll be darned if he didn't present a container of visible ice where air invisibly resided previously. The take away was that the air in the container was present the entire time, we just couldn't see it. As a species that survives and thrives on air, I'm glad oxygen is ever present, even though I can't see it.

The museum in downtown Denver wasn't the only stop on our recent trip. I tried my best to let my family explore the area all around Denver, while also mixing in some educational stops along the way. We visited a religious shrine, we saw where Buffalo Bill was buried, we explored dinosaur fossils on Dinosaur Ridge, and we even made the drive down to Colorado Springs to see "The Garden of the Gods."

If you haven't been to that part of the country, Colorado is an amazingly beautiful place. Despite the beautiful surroundings and my diligent attempts at passing along some education and history to the kids at each stop, they weren't listening and they seemed totally disinterested. They were more concerned with meeting some of their friends at the hotel pool, then hearing what I had to say. I felt as if I was droning on and on about interesting facts, and they couldn't care less.

The evening we arrived back home, suitcases laid open in the kids room, and small souvenirs cluttered their nightstands. In JB's room, there was a few sheets of paper with writing on them tucked beside his lamp. As I looked over the scribbled writing, I read as JB described, in great detail, his trip and all of the stops we made. He recalled with great specificity the information I shared with him at each stop. The 363 steps at the religious shrine represented the gruesome journey Jesus endured while being led to the cross. Who Buffalo Bill was and what made him famous. How fossils came to be found in the mountains of Denver. I was shocked to say the least. As a parent, I should have known already, but kids are always listening. Nothing I said went unheard.

Thinking back on our trip in total, we had a really amazing time. Like any trip however, it wasn't perfect. The first day started with a quite thorough individualized "search" by a TSA agent at the airport security check point. Amber blamed my luck on my recent beard growth. I should have known it was going to be an aggressive search, when the agent asked if he could "proceed here" or if I "preferred a private screening room." The fact that he told me "I'm using the back of my hands," "I'm only using the back of my hands," as he carefully covered every inch of my body, provided little comfort.

A few moments after my "back of hands" incident, Mallory set off an alarm by leaning against a restricted access door at the airport. Arriving in Denver, we waited over an hour at Hertz only to receive a rental car I didn't reserve or want. At the hotel one of our rooms wasn't ready, and we were trapped for what seemed like an hour in an elevator before being rescued. It was the kind of day, filled with the kind of experiences, that leave you questioning...why is this all happening to me? Where is God in any of this? Why isn't He present when I need Him? Why doesn't He listen to my prayers?

Sitting in my living room this evening, I started to recall all the great and the not so great things that happened on our trip. My mind went directly back to the science experiment at the museum. Tonight I felt my loving Father telling me, "I'm always present. Even though you can't see me, I'm always with you. Even though your eyes don't see me, don't let your heart doubt I'm here."

My mind went back to JB's notes as well. I felt my loving father reminding me, "I love you, and I hear you. Nothing you tell me goes unheard, nothing you ever say to me falls on deaf ears. When you call on me, and when you talk to me, I'm always listening."

There are going to be days in our lives my friends that will make my travel mishaps look like a walk in the park. There are going to be days where you feel alone and unheard. Let me promise you something in conclusion however...The Father we love and serve loves you more than you can imagine. You want to know something else...even though you can't physically see Him and even though it may seem like He doesn't hear you, He's always present and He's always listening.

Much Love, Adam
  • Exodus 33:14 NASB
    And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”
  • Joshua 1:9 NASB
    Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
  • Psalm 16:11 NASB
    You will make known to me the path of life;
    In Your presence is fullness of joy;
    In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
  • Psalm 23:4 NASB
    Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I fear no evil, for You are with me;
  • Psalm 27:4 NASBOne thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
    That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
    To behold the beauty of the LordAnd to meditate in His temple.
  • Psalm 41:12 NASB
    As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
    And You set me in Your presence forever.
  • Psalm 51:10-11 NASB
    Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
    Do not cast me away from Your presence
    And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
  • Psalm 73:28 NASB
    But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    That I may tell of all Your works.
  • Psalm 100:2 ESV
    Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!
  • Psalm 139:7-10 NASB
    Where can I go from Your Spirit?
    Or where can I flee from Your presence?
    If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
    If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
    If I take the wings of the dawn,
    If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
    Even there Your hand will lead me,
    And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
  • Psalm 140:13 NASB
    Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;
    The upright will dwell in Your presence.
  • Isaiah 57:15 NASB
    For thus says the high and exalted One
    Who [a]lives forever, whose name is Holy,
    “I dwell on a high and holy place,
    And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
    In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
    And to revive the heart of the contrite.
  • Jeremiah 29:13 NASB
    You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
  • Matthew 18:20 NASB
    For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.
  • Matthew 28:20b NASB
    and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
  • John 1:14 NASB
    And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  • John 14:16 NASB
    I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever
  • John 14:23 NASB
    Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
  • Hebrews 4:16 NASB
    Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
  • Hebrews 10:19-22 NASB
    Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a [h]sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
  • Hebrews 13:5 NASB
    Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
  • James 4:8 NASB
     Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
  • Revelation 21:3 NASB
     And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them
  • *The above verses were copied from heathercking.org

Comments

  1. MenefeeOctober 12, 2018 at 3:24 AM

    Wow., so much meaning and truth in one writing. I say this often however, this is by far, my favorite so far!

    ReplyDelete

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