Wanted

My youngest is seventeen months old. The past few months his three favorite words have been "mama," "dada," and "eh," the sound he makes when he points at something he wants. A few months ago he did put two words together a couple of times, such as "bye bye dada," but other than that he has just been saying one word at a time. It caught us by surprise last week when he said the complete sentence, "I want my momma." He has said it many times since then. Hearing those words melts my heart. We all need to feel wanted. Sadly there are some people who do not experience that from their parents, but every single person is wanted by our Heavenly Father. Have you told Him lately how much you love, need, and want Him? As the sons of Korah said, "Just like a deer that craves streams of water, my whole being craves you, God" (Psalm 42:1). You can bring encouragement to others in your life by telling them how you love and want them. My five-year-old loves to hear me tell stories about my childhood, how I met her father, etc. One of her favorite stories is about how my husband and I prayed and waited for over five years until God put her in my womb. She knows that we really, really wanted her and are so glad that God gave her to us.

I was very honored in the summer of 2012 when Christine asked me to be a part of this blog. I have enjoyed writing for my personal blog, Journey to our Children, since December 2006, and I was intrigued at the thought of writing for a spiritual blog. Writing for The Shepherd's fish causes me to constantly be on the lookout for God moments. One potential disadvantage of writing for a blog is that it can feel like a one-way conversation, but Christine has been faithful to write a little note after each post, which makes it feel more like a two-way dialogue. Over the years I have greatly appreciated blog comments or emails I have received in response to posts I have written. The other seven women who are a part of this blog have certainly made me feel wanted over the past year. They are quick to show their appreciation for little things that each of us have done to keep The Shepherd's fish going and to uphold each other in prayer. I love the fact that we come from different walks of life and different denominations. Sadly, it's not very often that you find Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, etc. working together toward a common goal. The authors of this blog have been living out the lyrics of Steve Green's song from 1991. He sang, "Let the walls that divide us and hide us come down. If in Christ we agree, let us seek unity. Let the walls come down."