Abba

Yesterday I did something that I've been thinking about for 3 years. I got the word abba written in Aramaic tattooed on my wrist.




This word has so much meaning to me. Abba means father, but literally translated, it means daddy. It's also used to describe a very close relationship with God. I first came across it while reading the book of Mark. Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane right before he's arrested.

"Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." Mark 14:35-36

Jesus called God daddy. He's fully God and fully man, but in this passage, he's so human. He was scared because he knew what he was going to do was extremely difficult. He cried out for help. But even in his distress, he left it up to God. He wanted to do His will. I think that this makes Jesus dying for our sin so much more powerful.

I also find great comfort in the fact that I can call God my daddy. Yes, I have my earthly father, but I also have my eternal father. He's always there for me. I can come to Him in my time of need. He will never give up on me. And after everything I've been through this year, I wanted a permanent reminder that I will see every day.

God is my Abba.

This is Why I Don't Interact Well With Small Children

I came back from a trip to Colorado. I had an amazing time hanging out with friends, staring at the mountains, and getting some insane pictures. I didn't even care that I had altitude sickness the whole time. There was one thing I found odd during the trip. There were lots of small children on my flight to Colorado and on my flight back. My flight into Denver left at 6:15, so I had to be there really early. You'd think that these kids would be tired and sleep the whole time. They didn't. Not even close. There was screaming, fighting, crying and kicking of my seat. Thankfully, I just cranked up my ipod and I was the one that slept the whole time.

Then, there was the flight back. First off, our flight got delayed so people were getting impatient. I wasn't stressed, I was just sitting there reading my book. Then, he showed up. He being a little boy around the age of 3 with his mom. His name was Oltaire. Yes. Oltaire. Like Voltaire, only without the V. He was very cute at first. Then, it all went down the drain. It started when he asked his mom if he could go look out the window so he could see the plane. She told he could and he ran over. This is what proceeded.

Oltaire: Look at the plane! There's a horse on it! (Starts banging on the window) PLANE!

Oltaire's Mom (In a very chill voice that makes it sound like she doesn't really care): Oltaire, you need to be quiet. (Goes back to staring off into space)

Oltaire: PLANE! PLAANNNEEE!!! (Says lots of others things that are incomprehensible in a high, screeching voice)

Mom (Still not caring): Oltaire, be quiet.

(Oltaire comes over to his mom and takes his stuffed animal out of his bag and throws it at her)

Mom: No, we don't throw things.

(This continues for about a half hour. Oltaire running back and forth to the window, banging on it, squealing and screeching, all the while his Mom seems not to care at all that this is happening and does very little to restrain him)

Oltaire (getting impatient): I wanna go on the plane!

Mom: Honey, we can't. The crew isn't here yet.

Oltaire: But I wanna!

Mom: You can't.

(Oltaire lets out a blood curdling scream. People are starting to stare. Finally, the crew arrives and we start to board.)

At this point, another mom with her small daughter get to board the plane first because they have priority tickets. Oltaire sees this happen and absolutely loses it. Screaming at the top of his lungs and yelling NO! every time his tries to calm him down. He really wanted to get on the plane.

When we finally took off, it became very clear that Oltaire did not, in fact, want to be on the plane. This was proven by him frequently letting out awful screams during the entire 2 and a half hour flight. There was also a baby that was crying the whole flight. I was towards the back so I couldn't see them, but boy could I hear them. We didn't land until about 1 in the morning. I was so thankful to get off that plane.

That's why I don't interact well with small children.

Sovereignty

I hurt myself running last week. My heel had been hurting for about 2 weeks and at first, I thought it was just muscle soreness and tightness. But it didn't get better even though I was stretching and putting ice on it regularly. Last Monday I went on my daily run and I had to stop halfway through because my heel was hurting so much. I got home and it was completely swollen and starting to bruise. Trip to the sports medicine specialist and lo and behold, I have Achilles tendinitis. No running for 6 weeks. Not going to lie, not running is driving me a little nuts. But the important thing is that I'm starting to heal.

Now, why did I choose to start off this post with that? Well, since I'm not able to run right now, I feel like part of my day is missing. Even though my heel hurts, this incident is actually kind of a blessing. I've been having trouble finding time during the day to spend time with God. Slowing down has helped me find that time and I can focus on God.

When we think about God, words like loving and kind come to mind. What about sovereign? That's not a word you hear people use to describe God that often. Sovereignty, in basic terms, is God's total authority and control over all things. The biggest thing that keeps us from recognizing God's sovereignty is our pride. We don't like to think we don't have control.

My pastor used Daniel chapter 4 as an example of how pride causes us to lose sight of God's sovereignty. This chapter deals with King Nebuchadnezzar. This guy had some major pride issues. Ruler of Babylon, he was extremely wealthy, had a huge palace, and at that point in history, he had world dominance. Not to mention that it was during his rule that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built.

Then one night, King "Nezzar" had a dream, and this dream freaked him out. He dreamt that there was a huge tree that covered the entire earth. All the animals were fed from the tree and it was abundant. But then, the tree was chopped down and just the stump and roots were left. The animals ran away, and suddenly a messenger from heaven starting talking about the tree like it was a man, saying that he was going to live like an animal and think like an animal for 7 years. Yeah, if I had that dream, I might be a little freaked out too.

Daniel interpreted the dream for Nezzar. He told him that the tree was really him. His power was going to be taken from him and he would be driven away from the kingdom. He was going to live and act like an animal for 7 years until "You acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of men and gives them to anyone he wishes."

You can guess what happened after this. Nebuchadnezzar's problem was that he thought he had the power. He was so proud of "everything he had done," that he forgot about God. He was taking credit for what God did. It was God who created him and gave him the family he was born into. It was God who gave him the opportunities that got him to this point. And it was God who took away his sanity until he finally got the picture.

How often do you take credit for what God has done in your life? We're all guilty of it. When I thought about this, I took a moment to thank God and praise him for everything he's done for me.

Lord, thank you for creating me and giving me a wonderful family that raised me to love you. Thank you for all of the experiences and opportunities that shaped me and continue to shape me into the person you want me to be. I don't understand everything in my life, but I know that you have control over all things and I am dependent on you. And that gives me peace. All the glory goes to you.