What do you need?

I worked in IT for the last 27 years or so of my career. When you work in IT, even when you get up into management levels, people look to you for help. Kind of like a mechanic. Or a doctor. Or maybe a mom. Often—usually—as I walked through the office, someone would say, “Mavis?” and I would automatically respond with some form of “What do you need?” Even if all I said was, “Yes?” in my mind, I was waiting to hear what the person needed.

I think about that sometimes with our relationship with God. It’s easy to get in the habit of only saying his name and praying when we need something. It’s not that that’s a terrible thing. I was grateful to be needed, and it gave me joy to know the answers and be able to help anyone who stopped me with, “Mavis?” It felt good. It was also a welcome surprise when the person didn’t need anything, when they were stopping me to say hi, compliment me, tell me some news, ask my opinion, or whatever. It was nice when they stopped me because I was their friend, and they had something to share.

I think God loves being needed by us. AND I think he loves it when we say his name to listen, to spend time with him, to tell him about what’s going on—when we pause to spend time with our friend. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” An old hymn, but a goodie. The second line is “All our sins and griefs to bear.” When I taught first grade, one of my students used to sing, “All our sins and beefs to bear.” :) I never corrected her. I think he’s glad to share our beefs, too.

Praise God for our friend Jesus. He loves us.