Yesterday I took a walk to Sonic to get lunch with my buddy Steve Kloter and we had a great conversation. We were talking about God’s role in our lives and how we interact with him. I began reflecting on God as a Father when something hit me. My kids have no idea about all the stuff I do for them. Isaac doesn’t know that I work and that the money that comes in does things like pay the mortgage and electricity bill. He doesn’t understand that the only reason he eats is because we go to the store and buy him the things that he likes. He doesn’t have an appreciation for the safety rules that we impose on him. Things like not letting him jump on his bed or play in the street. He has certain little responsibilities but they pale in comparison with what we do for him. Jonathan has way less of an idea of what we do for him. Being only 6 months old he is completely dependent on us for pretty much everything. Isaac and Jonathan wouldn’t have a shot at surviving without Abbi and I. It’s our joy to take care of these two precious kids and I don’t need them to ever have an appreciation for what we do but a truth occurred to me as I was contemplating being a dad. The relationship we have with God is pretty similar.

I bet throughout the course of the day that there are a million times that God does stuff for us that we have no clue about. How many times has he diverted a car that could have otherwise hit me? How many times has he led a certain person into my path that I wouldn’t have otherwise met? There are probably tons of times throughout the course of an average day that things could go way worse than they typically do because God is silently intervening. I tend to not be very thankful only because I don’t see all the stuff he does. When I reflect on his character and think about the fact that he is loving, it only makes sense that he would daily be providing for us in ways that exceed our comprehension. We should never assume that because we don’t see God moving, he must not be doing anything. We are stumbling around like toddlers not knowing all the troubles that could befall us and God is parenting us in the way that seems best to him. This should provoke a deeper level of gratitude in our hearts as we realize that he is working around the clock to lead us into the plans he has for us.