In the midst of a very important project that required my undivided attention and concentration my dog plopped an old smelly stuffed Santa toy on my lap. She had decided it was time to play. It was not. The project had to be completed. I was on a deadline. As I dropped her toy to the floor she again picked it up and put it on my lap. How could I explain to her that I would get to her later? What does later mean to a dog? She seems to exist only in the present. I cannot speak to her of yesterday or tomorrow, only now.
Humans function on a time line that moves into the future. My comprehension of being is so different from my dog’s. Yet as I speak this I remember as a boy I had a dog that would upon a specific time each day come to the end of the driveway because it was time for me to come home from school. Perhaps I am not as superior as I think I am.
I wondered if I ever bother God with my needs when He is busy elsewhere? Does He need to concentrate on a project making my requests an intrusion? In 2 Peter 3:8 we are told a thousand years with us is as a day with Him. He is under no deadline. He hears all. He sees all. He can focus on you and me and a billion others simultaneously. Never think you are bothering Him. When you need Him He will be there.
Written by Roger Bothwell on September 14, 2006
Spring of Life, 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453