He arranged for me to meet her at a local coffee shop.
I was nervous.
This was the first time I was meeting his sister and it seemed….real.
Meeting family meant our relationship was moving to another level.
He left for work and I was left alone with her. I missed him badly…and he had just left.
But she greeted me and welcomed me with a big hug.
She was beautiful and had a contagious smile.
My nerves were starting to calm.
Then she said, “Ask me anything you want, and I’ll tell you the truth.”
Wow! I had just received an open invitation to find out whatever I needed to know about him and his family.
And ask I did! I got the inside scoop on their family dynamics, habits, faith, and traditions. She shared stories about her brother that he had conveniently left out in our conversations.
We laughed a lot. I had enough fodder to tease him when I saw him next.
There was something special about a sibling’s perspective, and I was grateful for her transparency.
It was over a decade ago, but I can still picture us sitting in the middle of that cozy shop, sitting close together at that little round table.
The time we shared was special and foundational in our relationship as sisters, but truthfully, hearing her voice was different than hearing his.
I loved hearing about him….but I really missed his presence while I sat with her.
It got me to thinking about how much God longs for one-on-one time with me.
At the beginning of this year, one of my goals was to work on being a friend of God.
Eight months later, I’m starting to understand what that means.
I LOVE drowning my voice with Jen Johnson’s in “Goodness of God” or with Naomi Raine when she belts out “Jireh”.
I get pumped up when I hear Pastor Steven Furtick pack a punch in his message or when Priscilla Shirer shares a powerful jaw-dropping one-liner.
I can’t put down Beth Moore’s book as she brilliantly intertwines her personal stories with biblical characters. She has such a way with words that I can literally hear her southern drawl as I’m reading.
But I just gotta wonder….does any of that replace time reading my Bible?
Is THEIR voice the same as GOD’S?
What I’ve realized is…no and no.
God LONGS to have one-on-one time with me.
“The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” Psalm 14:2
He’s already there at the table…just waiting for me to pull up a chair and sit and hear from Him.
But am I too busy listening to a podcast or a song ABOUT him and not talking TO Him or listening FROM Him?
Friends, I challenge you to carve out some one-on-one time with your Heavenly Father. It takes intentionality and yes, TIME.
You WILL hear His sweet voice in your spirit…it’s calming and peaceful and you know that you know that you know…it’s Him.
Abraham was called a friend of God (Isaiah 41:8), and I want to be known as one too.
Join me at the table…the closer we come to him, the closer He will come to us.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8
~Elizabeth/Betsy
