“That picture is pretty because mama is in it.” – Darcy

Darcy is right. But Meg just rolls her eyes. What does Meg see? It is not the same thing Darcy sees.

Or take last week’s blog. I mentioned Phoebe is afraid of zombies, so I must go with her downstairs. She trusts my zombie fighting skills. I see my scrawny, aging body. I see a low zombie survival rate. What does Phoebe see?

Our kids have this vision of their parents. World conquerors. Brilliant masterminds. Ready to sail safely through any adventure. But I feel my ship is already scuttled.

I couldn’t spell “scuttled” – even the girls know to ask mom spelling questions. So I had to google spell check and I noticed the definition:

scut•tle (ˈskʌt l)
3. to sink (a vessel) deliberately by opening seacocks or making openings in the bottom.

Sunk not by a wrong turn or fate or an enemy, but deliberately.

God loves you. Irrationally. Read the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). Only insane love would run to embrace the son. Logic is the hesitant older brother. Logic sees the flaws. Refuses the possibilities. Logic knows the ship is sunk.

But the Father… He sees you and sees someone worth running to embrace. Maybe He sees with the eyes of child and discovers the beautiful zombie hunter. Maybe He just knows your life isn’t sunk. For whatever reason, He runs for you.

scut•tle (ˈskʌt l)
4. to abandon or destroy (plans, rumors, etc.)

How often do we look in the mirror and, finding the flaws, abandon possibilities? We sink the ship before it sets sail. We miss the adventures. We miss becoming world changers.

Our eyes lie. For the Father is running. God sees you. God knows you. And He runs to you. So take a second look. Be embraced.

“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.”