Last Wednesday night we left the girls at church (Laura for AWANA, Addie to play in the nursery) and ran a few errands, then arrived back a few minutes early to pick them up. Becky went over to chat with one of her friends, and I, having a few minutes on my hands, wandered into the sanctuary to play the piano.

There are few things I enjoy more than the chance to sit down in a dark, quiet room and play a nice piano. I don’t get to do it very often any more. So I sat and improvised a little George Winston-esque jazz, just enjoying the sounds and textures. Occasionally someone would come through the sanctuary, hear the piano, look up, and nod or say hello, but otherwise it was quiet. Then Cubbies got out, and here came the three and four year olds.

I could hear them tearing down the hallway toward the sanctuary. Laura’s friends Abigail and Ella got to the door of the sanctuary first, but stopped short as the entered the doorway, saw the room dark, and heard the piano music. They looked up at me to see where it was coming from, then just stood there, not sure what to do, but intimidated by the room and the situation.

Then Laura reached the door. She followed their gaze to the piano, saw me sitting there, and took off at a full run up the aisle to the piano, yelling “Daddeeeeeeee!” at the top of her lungs. She crashed up to the piano, gave me a hug, and proceeded to show me the picture she’d drawn at Cubbies.

Now I’ve not used this blog to draw lots of devotional illustrations from my children thus far, but this one was so immediately obvious that I just couldn’t let it go. Hebrews 4:16 instructs us to “…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” We aren’t to fear coming to God with our needs and concerns, quivering at the dark door like some ancient Israelite priest. Instead, we’re called to come in boldly, running up the aisle to the One who we know loves us like no one else can. Thanks, Father, for the vivid reminder.