God Must Love Dora the Explorer

Last week we celebrated Areyna's 2-year birthday. It was awesome. Zeke thought it was awesome too. He got to blow bubbles the whole time.

Areyna got lots of presents - all things "Dora the Explorer." We had Dora napkins, Dora plates and Dora cake. She got Dora jammies, Dora dolls, and Dora's backpack. What you may not know that I do, is that Dora's backpack is not a bookbag. It's a backpack. They should not and must not be confused.

When you're the dad of two youngsters, you pick up on the little nuances of the stuff they like and love. I have started learning these things because I care for my children and I care about what they care about. I love what they love. Although it does help when, after endless hours of educational cartoonage, Pixar comes on the scene with something new that simultaneously entertains the parents and the kiddos. Pixar is God's gift to young parents. Thus, I've fallen in love with Lightening McQueen, and so has Rainy. But probably for different reasons. But we both love him.

I think God is like that. He probably looks down from heaven and sees poor Josh fumbling away at his guitar and his writing and his music and the little ordinary things that make up his day and thinks, "Hmm, in the grand scheme of life, those things don't matter, but they are important to him, so they're important to me." Don't misunderstand. God doesn't cater to our desires, but He does place desires within us that are completely within His sphere of granting. Of course, even as Christians we have desires that are unpleasing to Him because of the struggle we have with living like our old self is dead, which it is (see Romans 6). But He places godly desires inside of us. More than that, He places normal, human desires inside of us. The routine wants and desires of our day, He already knows about and actually cares about. He's the awesome Creator of our being, whose days can never be numbered and whose power will never be matched, and yet He cares about the little things of our lives.

In Matthew 6, Jesus made this statement,

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

God cares about the small details - the seemingly insignificant minutiae that we find ourselves forever trying to escape from in the routine of it all. And yet, He says, "Don't worry. I'll take care of you. Don't worry. You like movies? I like them too. Don't worry. You like those Dora jammies? I think those Dora jammies are a"Dora"ble. Don't worry. You enjoy playing the guitar? Well, I invented music. Don't worry. You like to write? I like to write too. I wrote 66 books.

God cares about you, so He cares about what you care about. Does that grant us a license to desire whatever we want? Absolutely not. But it does give us the assurance that God is not looking for superhuman Christians who read their Bibles 80 hours a day and help approximately 3.3 old ladies across the street per day. He's looking for ordinary people that He can love and know intimately. That He can use mightily. Not that those other efforts are bad. Sure, they're good when they are accompanied by the right motives. But, the point is, you're ordinary. I'm ordinary. And that's the kind of people God uses.

I love Rainy. I love Zeke. They're ordinary kids. And yet I know that they're going to do extraordinary things for the kingdom of God. Yes, even the kid in the picture that likes snot bubbles.