Is God Deaf?

My daughter thinks I'm deaf. This realization has come to me over the past 2 weeks or so. She will be 3 this fall and is learning and developing at an amazing rate. She is quite proud of the new things she is able to do and loves to show me everything she does. So she works very hard to get my attention.

She starts with simply saying "Mama...mama..." and it escalates from there. She gives me about 10 seconds to respond to her before going on. "Mama...loooooook! Loooooook!", she says. So, I look up and meet her gaze. "Mahhhmeeee! Mommy!" she adds with increasing urgency. I now have locked eyes with her and responded with "Yes, Kate, mama's looking." This is followed by "Mama, watch ME! Watch ME!" she adds. By now I have stopped everything I've been doing, looked at her eyes, and responded verbally. Once she is satisfied that I'm engaged with her, she performs.

As I'm pelted with her pleading and demanding requests for my attention, I ponder what causes her to finally decide she has my attention. How does she decide what's enough? And, how many times does she have to demonstrate a newly acquired skill before she knows I'm impressed? She's quite charming and she is constantly showered with praises for her accomplishments...(except the time she tipped her brother over on to his head this week.)

All this made me wonder if I'm like this with my own Father. Do I constantly check and recheck hoping that I have His undivided attention? I think I've defined in my own mind what it means to experience His attention and when I don't feel it just that way, I go on a mission to see if He's really present. The reality is that it's not that He's not there, it's more likely that He's not expressing Himself where I hope to see, feel or experience Him. So, I plead, persist, and repeat myself hoping to see a glimpse His presence. But He is there, that's what He promised. I don't have plead, I just have to remember that He is not defined by my ideas of who He is. He is who He says He is...a perfect Father.

It's sometimes tiring to listen to Kate's repeated demands for my attention and affirmation throughout my day. So, I tried to imagine what God must be facing when He has millions of people doing the same thing daily. It's not that I think He tires of hearing from me or his other followers, I just think it would please Him if my energy wasn't spent asking Him to "Loooook God" and "Watch me". Whether I live like I believe that or not, He's already looking and watching, but there can be so much more to our relationship beyond that.

So, thank you, Kate, for teaching me a little bit more about life. And, yes Kate, I'm looking and watching...because I love you.