It’s been about 6,200 days since I’ve babysat a seven-month old baby.  I volunteered to stay with our grandson, Grant, while Amy, Jeremy, Debbie, and Bethany went to the store on Labor Day.

For much of our time together, Grant was napping.  You know, babysitting isn’t too difficult when the baby is sleeping  in the crib.  I had just begun washing the dishes when I heard him awakening.  Walking into the bedroom, I smelled him before I saw him.

The last time I changed a dirty diaper. . .

. . . Desert Shield was in the news.
. . . the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 2600.
. . . a gallon of gas in Iowa cost $1.25.
. . . the first web page on the WWW was published.
. . . the Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed to the public.
. . . the first in-car global positioning system (GPS) goes on sale.

It’s been a while, but I discovered that changing a dirty diaper is like riding a bike. If you’ve done it before, you can do it again – even if it has been awhile.

Playing with his toys was the next order of business.  Because his attention span isn’t yet developed, it took about ten toys in a space of ten minutes to keep him occupied.  Seven-month old children are easily distracted.

Meanwhile the dish water is lukewarm.  Taking care of a non-sleeping infant requires constant attention and care.

After the toys I read the “fish” book several times.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish –
Black fish, blue fish, old fish, new fish –
Three fish, four fish — here come more fish!

Back to the toys. The dishwater is cold.  But I don’t care because I love being with Grant.  Even though he is too young to understand love, he’s not too young to experience it.

It seemed like a long time to me – but the babysitting gig lasted just a little more than an hour. The family returned – happy that the baby was happy. . . and clean.

This short experience reminds me of some striking parallels in our relationship with God.

* Most of us make plenty of messes which we expect God to clean up. Amazingly, He does.  He’s cleaned tons of messes for me.

* Many of us Christ-followers are distracted more often than we are focused.

* God pays careful attention to all of us at the same time.  That’s saying a lot — because most of us need a plenty of tender loving care.

* God doesn’t care that his “dish water is getting cold.  As long as He is with His children, He’s happy.

Grant and his mom and dad have returned to Memphis.  He’s out of sight – but he’s not out of mind because he’s our grandson!

I’ve been thinking – if every day was a holiday spent with our family – finishing strong would be a piece of cake (chocolate with peanut butter frosting – in case you want to know my favorite). 

But I can finish strong because I have a God who loves me even when I’m distracted and make messes.