He Is There

Recently, my mom and I found ourselves out to lunch, just the two of us, with out kids! (thanks to an amazing husband who values his time with his children, and who also understands the sanity it brings me to have a break now and then!)

For as long as I can remember, my mom and I have made it a point to go out to lunch together; it's always been our bonding time..we can enjoy our favorite food together, and then dive into each other's lives with gusto! Admittedly, sometimes when I was younger I dreaded the deeper questions thinking, "what is she going to ask me this time?" But it was always good.

So at a favorite Mexican food place (it's always and only Mexican food), we chatted it up. With lots of topics covered, part of the conversation went somewhat like this...

me: "Landis is sleeping terribly at night. I think we're at the point to let him cry it out. We tried the other night, and it only made me mad at Luke. I don't know why, but when Landis is screaming in his bed, I get mad at Luke...."

mom: "May I offer a suggestion..."

me: "sure.." and so on...

more kid talk, Julia's funny, Amaleah's lovely, etc...

mom: "So, how are you?" (which means, "How is your walk with the Lord?")

me: "Well, I've had like 3 quiet times since Landis has been born. I've tried to keep my Bible open during nursings, but it just doesn't always work. I feel really distant from God. You know, it's like when you haven't talked to a friend in a long time, it takes a while to warm up again, and you just feel really distant."

mom: "But He is still there, Gab, you know that. He's not distant. He's there, believe the truth."

me: "I know...I know...thanks."

Something about that conversation has stayed with me...it was my mom's simple words that just encouraged me. She didn't call me out for not having a quiet time, she reminded me of the truth, and helped me to resist the temptation to start feeling like God wasn't there. And it worked. It brought me back to the truth. My mom is good at that, and I'm so thankful for that.