When I was a child, one of my favorite things to do was to climb onto my swing that hung on a sturdy limb of the maple tree outside our kitchen window. There seemed to be something magical as I pumped my legs to go higher and higher letting the breeze wash over me. The swing transported me to a place of freedom not found when my two feet were planted on the ground. Even now, swinging on a swing gives me that sense of childlike delight, freedom of flight from being earthbound.

These feelings on a swing stir up childhood memories for many of us and are the kind that draw us to places like Disney World no matter what our age. Things there remind us of the very best of our childhood dreams. In that place we have permission to be a child again no matter what our age. It is why you can see as many adults of all ages at Disney World as you do children.

Our days fill up with images and sounds, schedules and “to do” lists, and sometimes we skim across the surface of our lives with our eyes and ears half closed. We too often “live in a dream world” as noted in the popular movie, The Matrix. Sometimes we prefer it that way as we trudge through the day. There are bills to pay and not enough money. There are wounds unhealed. There are ailments and illnesses, losses and loneliness. There are dreams that lay shattered and hopes that are fading. There are headlines that remind us much in this world is amiss. It can be easy to think that is all there is or will be. It can be too easy to see the Lord as seeming to stand at a distance unconcerned with our lives.

We have images of Him in our hearts and minds. Many of them formed long ago when we were younger. Some of those images are marred by a belief He has betrayed us as a result of our abuse, our lack of healing, our shattered dreams, our unfulfilled hopes and desires. Our churches or other Christians have disappointed or disillusioned us and mar some of those images.

I have known those at different seasons of my life as well, but what I have learned is that our images of Him are too small, too narrow, limited, and sometimes too serious. As a result, it can become harder to pursue time with Him and relate with Him in true childlike faith.

As I was journaling after a trip to Disney World and reflecting on the magic of that place, I risked telling the Lord of the delight and wonder I experienced in this manmade place, how it touched places deep inside me unlike anything else. It all seemed so irreverent and unlike any prayers or journal entries I had written before. That day, I leaned in as my heart, mind, and spirit waited to hear His response. What I heard still brings a smile to my face.

He reminded me that He knew about my childhood and if I believed, I could experience childlike wonder even now as an adult. He could show me life from His shoulders where I could see everything better. He whispered that I could come running into His arms and He would never drop me. He softly said that I sometimes made Him into such a serious papa and that He longed for me to see the twinkle in His eyes and the curve of His smile.

Not unlike the images Ken Gire creates in his wonderful book, The Divine Embrace, He reminded me that I could dance with Him, laugh with Him, and crawl into His lap and hide in the folds of His garments IF I would risk being a child with Him.

Only when I risk doing that very thing can He transform my view, grow my trust, help me let go of the control I can try to take over my hours and days. And then, I can know more of Him and enjoy Him in ways I never knew before. I can see things much better from His shoulders. I can rest in the certainty that He will never drop me and never let go of me.

Earlier this week a dear friend of mine made a date to get together for coffee at our favorite coffee shop. Actually, we may have other favorite shops, but this one has become the one that we always choose. Part of it is the location between our two homes. Part of it is the comfy faux leather chairs in the corner that we try to snag. We love coffee, but the coffee is really the opening act because getting together to talk is really the main event for us.

We have talked about many things back in “our corner” from marriage to parenting, our latest book choices, our spiritual lives, the latest ministry challenges, our hopes and dreams, our uncertainties, and foundational beliefs.

We take several hours to catch up and sip our favorite drinks and even though we spend two hours together, the conversation never stalls or winds down and we talk all the way to our cars. The coffee always runs out before the conversation. The finale of the conversation focuses on when we will be able to meet again for coffee.

What is it that draws so many of us to meet at a coffee shop for coffee to connect? I looked around our coffee shop this week and noted how many of the chairs were filled. There were the usual folks on laptops alone and seemingly hard at work, but there were so many spots where two people were doing the same thing as I was, enjoying the conversation and company of a friend. I have seen men connecting over a Bible study, college students meeting around a group project, and of course, girlfriends like us meeting together for the sheer joy of the time together.

Perhaps we choose the coffee shop because we have bought into the ads for Starbucks, Peets, Caribou or other companies. Perhaps we simply love coffee. Perhaps it is because the coffee shop is an oasis from everything else in our day. Perhaps holding a cup in our hand provides some comfort or reassurance as we sometimes share the deepest parts of our heart. Perhaps it provides the context for the real reason, that we enjoy connecting with one another in a relaxed environment and since we do so by appointment we actually set aside time to nourish relationship in the midst of our busy lives. We commit to it even if we need to keep circling the building for a parking spot or need to wait for two chairs to open up.

Getting together for coffee is actually code for, “I want to spend time with you” or “I want to share something with you”. The commitment and the appointment certainly also says something we also need to hear – “You matter to me and I value you”. It adds to a sense of community. That is key to our emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual selves.

Whatever way we may choose to connect or experience community with one another, the vital key is to make time to do it and let the mysterious process of nourishing our souls happen.

Jesus was the expert on this. As we read in the gospels we see the teaching to crowds, the healing of all sorts of maladies, the time alone with His Father, but do we also look at those connection times? They are tucked in before ministry and after time with the Father in Luke 6. They happen with his disciples, with his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus as well as others.

I wonder. Would Jesus hang out at our favorite coffee shop sipping an espresso or latte if He walked the earth now? What a wondrous time that would be! But maybe we can still experience a small taste of that if we find a favorite spot, get our favorite coffee drink, and spend one-on-one time sharing ourselves with Him, catching up, finding out what is on His mind and not simply handing Him our prayer requests.

Our daily newscasts alert us to agreements or pacts that have been agreed to between countries, companies, or organizations. Many times there is a formal signing event with special pens designated for the agreement, treaty, or pact. In recent history, many pacts or deals were sealed by a handshake instead of a formal ceremony. In those days, your word was your bond and the handshake was the physical demonstration of the agreement. In each case, it represents a promise or commitment to that which has been agreed upon.

Children like to “pinky promise” one another. It is their version of a handshake of old perhaps. A bride and groom pledge promises to one another representing a covenant, an agreement.

There are also unspoken agreements that are made along the way in all of our lives. Some of these we are conscious of and have assented to on some level. Perhaps it is something that was spoken long ago and now continues to be assumed such as a husband agreeing to handle the yard work or the wife agreeing to handle the primary job of cooking.

Beyond these are unconscious agreements we have made and continue to make unknowingly. These are those convictions we have developed or have been raised to believe about life, the Lord, and us. Many of these developed as children or adolescents when we were malleable and believed what we learned was fact without the maturity, discernment or wisdom to know whether they were true or false. For those reasons, it gives fertile ground for the enemy to twist and distort our beliefs. Too often, they shadow us into adulthood without our awareness. If we stumble upon one of them, we assume we are the ones creating these thoughts versus the whispers of the enemy.

Those unconscious subtle agreements work to try to erode the truth and wreak havoc with our thought life and emotions. These then nibble away and erode our relationships, casting doubt and uncertainty where there is no reason for either one.

How does this work?

Perhaps when we were young children our parents were divorced and we did not and could not understand what happened, but we felt abandoned by the parent who moved out of our home. We wondered if it was our fault in some way, if we had obeyed more quickly, been quieter, tried harder, or been more of something we could have still been a family. In the mix of those wounded hearts, a subtle whisper can begin that we are not good enough, don’t deserve a family, will be abandoned by anyone we love.

These beliefs sink under the surface of our minds and hearts and yet, even in adulthood they subtly pop up above the surface. We have a hard time believing we are worthwhile, trusting we are loveable and will not be abandoned when we risk loving. Despite whatever we achieve, we cannot believe in “the possible” for ourselves and sometimes we struggle with what the Lord believes about us even after we become Christians.

I think that is why Paul reminds us in II Corinthians 10 to take every thought captive. It reminds us that we need to take back the truth about who we are, who we are not, and who He is. We often will ask someone else to affirm us in some way and hope that will get rid of the pesky thoughts and doubts. Sadly, those words slide off of us as if we were made of Teflon.

It is only when we hear from our Creator the truth that we can receive the positive affirmations of others and own the truth. The truth is that He loved us before, before we knew Him, before we tried to obey Him, and He will never abandon us. His love was NEVER based on whether or not we were good enough or deserved it. NONE of us were or did. It was based on who He was, is, and always will be.