Hi Friends,
A little story I thought you might enjoy . . .
Save a Seat
The lights dimmed. Kids wiggled on the bench in the big auditorium. Mostly my kids wiggled, eagerly awaiting the show that would commence in just minutes. The theater filled with families, parents, grandparents, singles, until the room buzzed with breathing, whispering, and the rustle of many bodies pressed into a space.
An usher dressed in a bright blue jacket pushed up the aisle. He leaned over my youngest who sat at the end next to her sister. Jordyn widened her seat, her arms spread to the side, her feet swinging.
“Squeeze in, please.” The usher waved toward the center of the bench.
Jordyn lifted her chin. “No. Daddy’s seat.” She straightened and did not budge. “Daddy sits here!”
“You need to scoot in, please.”
“My Daddy is sitting here.” Her voice came out low, but determined. She was not going to move. And no usher, no matter how fancy his suit, was going to make her.
The usher moved on.
Bria’s voice rose over the hush around us. “Jordyn! He asked you to move!”
Jordyn scowled. “No. I told you. Daddy sits here.”
Bria make a face and looked down the row at me. “Mom! Make her move. Dad can sit on the other end.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think anyone’s changing her mind. Looks like Daddy’s going to be sitting right there.” I grinned. Daddy was out parking the car after letting us off at the door. He would come soon, and in the meantime, his little girl was determined to save him a seat right by her.
A few minutes later, Bryan trotted up the aisle to our row.
Jordyn beamed. “I saved you a seat, Daddy!” She scooted over.
But instead of sitting beside her, Bryan scooped up his little girl into his arms and sat her on his lap. For the rest of the show, she snuggled happily in his arms and enjoyed the warmth of her Daddy’s love. When the lights dimmed further and the darkness came, Jordyn was not afraid. When a cannon boomed and smokey stage-fire shot toward us, the rest of us jumped, but Jordyn stayed snug against her daddy. When the show slowed and the dialogue became too complex for Jordyn to understand, she didn’t squirm, she didn’t complain, she just sat tucked in Daddy’s arms.
On the way home, I thought about the wisdom of a little girl who so fiercely protected Daddy’s seat, the place where her father could come near to her and show her his love.
I want to be that little girl. I want to be the kind of daughter who cannot be persuaded to give up her Father-in-Heaven’s seat beside her. I want to be the one who so longs to be near my Abba Daddy that I make sure I save His seat and don’t let anyone else sit there. I don’t let anyone else take His place.
Even if someone bigger than me in fancy clothes tells me there’s no room for my Father here in such a public place, even if a family member thinks I’m wrong and tells others, even if a kind stranger asks if he can sit there instead ... the place closest to me, the place closest to my heart, must be reserved for the God who loves me more than I can imagine.
Hebrews 10:22-23 (NIV) says, “...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Similarly, James 4:8 (NIV) calls us to, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
So today, and every day, I want to save the seat closest to my heart for my Father, who will come, scoop me up, and hold me next to his heart even when the lights go dark, even cannons boom, even when everyone around me is afraid, even when I don’t understand what’s happening in the show.
My Father will hold me close, if only I save His seat.
