He's Not Here Right Now

  The girls and I are at my parents in Tennessee for a couple of weeks while Jacob is at his annual two week training for the National Guard.  The first thing we did when we got here was get the girl's rooms set up - meaning finding some great blinds or window coverings to keep it dark in their rooms for as long as possible in the mornings!  Darker rooms mean later sleeping, after all.  And that is strictly for the benefit of the girls :)  So, in the room Anna Beth is sleeping in, there is a navy blue fleece blanket with the moon and the stars and the sun (insert singing voice: "and the earth and Jupiter and Mars".)  It's really quite pretty in the mornings with the sun shining in behind it - really making everything glow and light up, just like the sun, moon, and stars.
  Anna Beth noticed it first and was very excited to point it out to me.  Noticing a teachable moment, I asked her who made the sun, moon, and stars.  She promptly replied, "God made them."  I told her that yes, He did make them and we can thank Him for making them for us to give us light. 
  She said, (with a matter of fact shoulder shrug): "Yeah, but He's not here right now." It was really a cute response because of the shoulder shrug and the tone of her voice. I felt like she should follow it with, "Can I take a message?"  I smiled at the cuteness and then realized God had given me an excellent teachable moment.  (Very cool...just minutes before this during my Bible study/prayer time, I had asked God to give me teachable moments for my kids today - and to help me recognize them.  I love it when He answers prayers so quickly and obviously!)
  I began telling Anna Beth how God is always there, that He never leaves us and He is always with us.  Now, I know I probably could have gone on and on with her and there were probably simpler terms that I could have used.  I don't even know if she really understood.  And, given the super short attention span of a 3 year old, she quickly moved on.  But it did remind me, that, yes, God is always there and, no, He never leaves us.  Not ever.