Recently I hosted some friends, Pete and Lauren Snyder, missionaries from China. Whenever they come to the US, I look forward eagerly to their visit. The last couple of years they were only able to stay one night, and most of our time together was taken up with driving from one place to another and going to a speaking venue for the evening, leaving us very little time to just hang out. But this year they were coming for two nights.
I was really excited because although the first day and night would be like the two previous years, the following day and evening we would get more “down time” together. I enjoyed laying in a supply of snacks and planning things we might do. Then, sometime between our last set of emails about dates and times and the day I went to pick them up, unknown to me, their plans had changed and I learned it was going to be more like the last two years. I was disappointed, but was very thankful for the time we did spend together, and we had a great time.
As I was getting dressed the morning after hearing the disappointing news, I began to remember some of the times – too many, I’m embarrassed to say – when I would make plans to chill and hang out with God and then life would happen, or I would get caught up in something on the computer, or my “just checking in” on Facebook swallowed up a whole hour before I knew it.
Suddenly I realized how God must feel when the time I had planned to spend with Him didn’t come to pass. And I’ll never know about all the special things He might have been planning to share with me if I had spent that time in His presence. I made a new commitment not to let other things pulled me away from time I had planned to spend with God. “In His presence is fullness of joy; at his right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). I don’t want to miss out on that!
I got to spend a few hours with them yesterday. It was short but very sweet. God gave us some special moments in His Presence