Out of Reach
His sister drove him crazy. She was loud. She was boisterous. She was always into things. She thought water was fun to play in. She thought she had the right to have someone play with her on demand. She thought that just because she was the baby that the world revolved around her. She was a diva! She was . . . canine.
He on the other hand was a perfectly formed, lithe, svelte, graceful creature of perfection. He could leap, pirouette, or run as fast as the wind. He could fit into small spaces, leap to high places or stop at will. He loved climbing to high places so that he could observe everything going on around him. Yet he also had the patience to stalk him prey--waiting for just the right moment to strike.
Unfortunately, "she" also liked to strike. He was perfectly happy in the kitchen with mom cooking--her at the stove and him wrapping around her ankles. Then, "she" would come running in; sticking her nose in his business (and other places); pouncing on him like he was one of her chew toys strewn all over the house. She would bark and yap on and on. However, he discovered that if he kept mom's feet and legs between him and "her" that eventually mom would yell at "her" and he would be comforted and petted for putting up with her brutish ways. He could stay in her sight, but just out of reach.
He especially loved it when she messed in the house. She got her nose shoved into the stuff; slapped; and confined to her jail--the crate. She had to stay in the crate until mom or dad one decided she had served her time AND when she stopped barking. That was where the fun began.
You see, the crate was solid on the top and bottom. The sides and door had metal mesh to keep her in, but she could she through it and often paws at it in a vain effort to be released from her "jail." It was perfect for him to saunter down the hallway and walk in front of her crate (the better to remind her that he was free and she was NOT). He also loved racing through the house, turning the corner to dash down the hall and skid to a complete stop just in front of her--out of reach, but very much in sight. Another of his favorites was to meander into the bathroom and wander in and out of the doorway--just a few feet from her crate.
One day, he was accompanying mom down the hall to the bedroom (just to the side of the crate in the hall). He had stopped off in the bathroom to get a drink of water and heard mom closing the door to the bedroom. He rushed around the corner and leapt across the crate just as mom closed the door. Rather than allowing "her" to see him shut out of the bedroom, he stuck his landing on top of her crate. Did she ever bark and go crazy. So he lay down on top of the crate. She kept barking. Mom told her to hush. He sat up and looked over the top of the crate at her--she went nuts! Her paws were flying at the door! Had it been dirt she would have been half way to China! She yipped. She barked. He curled into a compact ball and lazily let his tail swish down in front of her. He was out of reach. She was under his control.
So often we find ourselves playing games with God. We want God, just out of reach--from us that is. God should always be there when we want God, but only on our conditions. We try to box God in to a controllable space like a church building, or a church camp, or a some place of our choosing.
God, however, cannot be boxed. No matter where we are--God is there. It might be in a church--God is there; or at the lake; or in a sunset; or a baby's smile. God is with us in the dark places; the hard places; when we feel despair. God is already there. God does have to come to us or find us, because God dwells in us. There is no place that is neither too beautiful nor too ugly for God not to be--God is there and everywhere in between. We are the ones who close our eyes and refuse to see.
God, help us to realize that you are never out of reach. You dwell within us; abide with us; wait for us patiently to open our eyes and recognize that you are there. And God, help us to realize that no matter what games we play--we are never out of your reach. Help us to open ourselves to you and your love. So be it. Amen.
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