Lap

I can't write easily with him on my lap. I am sitting on my front porch on a warm November afternoon and I can't write sitting off to the side so my lap is cocked off towards my left in such a way to accommodate my dog Murphy.

There, that is better.  I put him down. You see, he is a Yorkshire Terrier, Shitzhu mix. The Yorkie in him causes Murphy to act like an idiot when someone comes to the door. His protective nature kicks in and he barks up a storm that causes my wife great consternation. The Shitzhu (forgive me if I am spelling this incorrectly) is another area that causes him to crave my lap. My understanding is that this breed was bred to sit on the Chinese Royal's lap. I sit outside here to do much thinking and studying for some of my commitments and it is here that I often choose to write here.  He will be good off my lap for a period of time but then will start to whine and cry to come back up and sit a while. He simply needs some lap time from me.  I can tell him "no" and he will, more often than not, accept my rebuff but eventually I will have to give in and let him leap up on my lap.

I've recently been thinking about this act of sitting on a lap. At 63 I am well past sitting on someone's lap but I recall fondly sitting on my father's lap when I was very little.  Dad would let me sit on his lap while he read the local newspaper in the evening. Often our little black dog, Zeke, would join us. I felt safe and comforted.

I am also thinking of having my own children and now my grandson sit on my lap. It was a comfort to me as well as a comfort to them. Lap sitting is a very comforting and healthy place for little ones as they grow. Eventually though we grow too large for the laps we once occupied.

Please take a moment and think about your own experiences of lap-sitting. Hopefully you had those times of comfort and deep physical contact with a loved one and you can, with some effort, recall those feelings associated with lap-sitting.

My church family is looking at growing closer to God through a 4-part series of messages. There are many ways that we need to be intentional about if we are to grow close to our ever-present Abba and I am looking forward to hearing more of what is to come. I find it interesting that for about a month I've been thinking about my dog Murphy and his need for my lap and some of the spiritual implications of this need that I still carry as an adult. I've thought about writing here about this and this desire to write now coincides with this important series of messages.

While I am looking forward to hearing more, I am finding I need to approach this simply. I am reminded of a couple of things Jesus taught. First was His reiteration of the Great Commandment, to love God with our whole heart, mind and strength. The second thing that falls along side this reminder is His conviction that we need and have a Father, Abba and He longs to be our father. Jesus modeled well that relationship while on earth. Implied in this is our continued child-likeness that is needed, required in this relationship with Abba.

We grow physically and can no longer enjoy the comfort once had in the lap of a parent or grandparent but I think we still need to find some lap-sitting for our souls. We are children of the Most High and He has come to us, we are in Him and He is in us. Why not place ourselves in His lap? Why should we not recall our own memories of lap-sitting and ask God to become the parent He is and let the comfort of His presence enfold our souls as we recall the safety and comfort we once had with our earthly parents?

Let those memories come along side your God-given imagination and let yourself sit in His lap. It may feel a little silly or juvenile but if we are honest with ourselves, we may admit we long for that experience from time to time. For me, I find it easiest to find this comfortable posture when I am outside, especially when I am sheltered by a tree. Maybe a comfortable chair is a better place for some of you. The point is to say "yes" to God's invitation for intimacy and comfort with His presence. Take a moment and find some quiet and ask to sit in His loving embrace, His loving lap and see where He will take your soul.

Well, Murphy is getting insistent for my lap again. I've rebuffed him three or four times while writing this so I think I need to invite him back up.