Good old Sesame Street.Ah yes, the difficult concepts of near and far. Michaela and I have been working on those for a few months now. We stand by the mirror and jump back and forth saying near and far. She laughs and smiles and when we're done she says, "Mah," which means "more" in Michaelanese. 

But some day she'll grow up and have those concepts nailed down. She'll know that things that are near are things she can touch and see and interact with. She'll learn that things that are far are often out of reach. They are the things she can't see, can't touch, can't change, can't do anything about. She'll learn just like we all do what near and far mean.

But Jesus must not have watched Sesame Street, because He doesn't seem to have learned this lesson.

Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. - John 4:46
So Jesus is back in Cana. There is a man from the next town over whose son is dying back home. He comes looking for Jesus and begs Him to heal his son. It must have been serious and he must have tried a lot of other things to get his son well. Usually the last thing people do is run around the country looking for holy men to heal their kids. 

The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." - John 4:49

He begs Jesus to come back to Capernaum to help him.  Near and far. This man understands the concept. I can picture what this father might have been thinking and saying as he begged the Lord.   Jesus, we are in Cana and my son is dying in Capernaum. That's far away, twenty miles to be exact. We can't do anything to help him from here. Please Jesus, come down to Capernaum with me. If we leave now, we might get there in time for you to save him. 

"Go," Jesus replied, "your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. - John 4:50

What an under appreciated little verse. We're so used to Jesus healing people in the New Testament that it's easy for this to just seem like any other person He healed. But there's something special about what He does here. Jesus heals a boy that is 20 miles away with just a few words! Your son will live. The man later finds out that his son got better at the very moment that Jesus was speaking with him. It didn't take any time for Jesus' words to act with power even from so far away. 

With Jesus, far is near. We may not be able to see or touch or interact with or change things that are far away. But Jesus can. Wherever you are, no matter how far you may feel from God, Jesus is near. He sees you and your need. You're not outside of His reach. He can change your life in an instant. You don't need to be in the right room, building, or even city to be touched by God.

What's also incredible about this story is that the royal official believes Jesus. He takes Jesus at His word. Oh how much more simple life would be if we did that! I think of the times God has seemed far and life has seemed so difficult and I read a verse that tells me God is with me and will work all things out for good. I think of all the times I've read those verses and not taken God at His word. So I stress and I fret and I worry and God ends up keeping His promise. Instead, I could have walked away with joy trusting God would do as He said. 

Today, be reminded. You and I may struggle with near and far. But God isn't limited by a few miles. Even when He feels far away, remember that far is near to God. You can turn to Him anytime, any place. And remember to take Him at His word.  His Word is final and He is faithful to keep His promises.

Here's a little reminder that near and far are child's play to the Creator of the Universe. 

Lovely picture isn't it?  Michaela typically only cries like that for two reasons.  As was the case in the picture, she gets like this when she is very tired from sleeping badly the night before or missing a midday nap (often both).  We call her Grumpy Brunke.  The other situation that causes her to lose her mind like this is when she is scared.  She doesn't get scared of a lot of things.  Big dogs don't bother her.  Loud trucks don't scare her.  Strangers are her biggest fear.  If she hasn't spent a lot of quality time with you, you can cause a Michaela meltdown just by trying to pick her up. 

A few weeks ago at church, Michaela was playing near me.  Someone she doesn't know very well walked up to her, bent down, and started talking to her and squeezing her cheeks.  Her face immediately distorted into the look of terror as tears tumbled down her cheeks.  She cried.  LOUDLY.  She spun around a few times until her eyes locked on me standing ten feet away.  She walked around the stranger and cut a straight path to me, crying all the while.  She reached her hand out and grabbed my leg.  Her crying stopped almost as soon as she touched me.  She sobbed a few more times as she caught her breath.  She looked up, her cheeks covered in tears but with a smile on her face as she said two words: "Daddy.  Up."

I couldn't help but laugh as I picked her up.  She had gone from meltdown to happy in just 0.9 seconds.  She was scared of the stranger but she knew that I would take care of her.  Once she had made it to Daddy, she knew everything would be alright.  I was her safe zone.  She handled her fear in the best way she knew how.  Run to Daddy. 

If you've trusted Christ as your Savior, you were not give a spirit of fear, but a spirit of adoption.  Almighty God has adopted you as His son or daughter.  You are a child of God.  He loves you deeply.  You can cry out to God as a child cries out for their daddy.  God wants you to realize that He is more than just the man in the sky who is in charge.  He is your loving Daddy. 

What troubles you?  What scares you?  What causes you to cry?  What leaves you worried?  Courage is not the answer.  Manning up and saying, "I'm not scared.  I can do this," is not the way to conquer fear.  The cure for fear is not courage and trusting in yourself.  The cure for fear is Daddy.  Would you give that a shot next time you are afraid?  Would you run to your Heavenly Daddy in prayer?  Would you grab onto His leg and ask Him to pick you up?  He loves you.  He cares for you.  He is bigger than those strangers that are scaring you.  He wants to take care of you.  He will walk alongside of you.  Run to him with trust and faith and watch your fears melt away in 0.9 seconds.

Yeah... I want to watch this...Just a simple thought today.  Last night, after Christy and I had finished an episode of Bones, I was skimming through the Netlix menu.  I spotted TinkerBell and the Secret of Wings and my reaction surprised Christy and actually embarrassed me if I'm honest.  I saw it and said something along the lines of, "Sweet!  I haven't seen this one yet.  I'll have to watch it." 

Now, before you think I've lost my mind, let me inform you that I meant that I would have to watch it with Michaela, you know, my 17 month old daughter who is in love with TinkerBell.  However, if I'm totally honest, I find myself legitimately interested in seeing this next movie.  I've seen two of them already and want to see how the next portion of the tinker fairy's saga plays out. 

That's a picture of my daughter Michaela.  Before you call DCFS, I'll fill you in on a secret: The picture is totally photoshopped.  I love her with all my heart and I delight in her.  I'm happy when she smiles and it makes me sad to see her upset.

This morning, I was holding her and eating my breakfast.  She is at the point now where we are feeding her the standard mushy baby food but also giving her a few small solids like Cheerios.  So every time I brought my English muffin up toward my mouth, she would reach out to grab it and try to eat it.  I'd lovingly look at her and say, "No, no, no, this is for Daddy."  She'd stare at me with her pretty eyes and start playing with the tablecloth.  I'd take another bite and she would reach out again.  This happened the whole time I ate.

Michaela Lynn Brunke is here!!!!  I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. 

Let me tell you, I absolutely love this little girl!  You know how I know?  I’ve never been a baby person.  All of my life, I have always thought and said that all babies look alike and none of them are cute.  They are just kind of weird looking and chubby.  But guess what?  I think Michaela is beautiful!  I don’t think I have every changed a diaper in my life.  Even when my nephew Malikai was a baby, I avoided diaper duty like the plague because that’s just gross!  But guess what?  Not only do I change Michaela’s diapers . . . I enjoy doing it!  It’s the strangest thing.  I enjoy cleaning her poopy diapers.  I love rocking her to sleep late at night when I’m tired and exhausted.  I love giving her attention when she wakes up, even when it interrupts important or fun things I’m doing.

I’m sure that those of you who are parents know what I’m talking about.  Things that I thought were going to feel like a duty, chore, or burden don’t feel that way at all.  Instead, I enjoy serving my little girl for the most part.  Why?  Because I love her!  When I don’t feel like taking care of her, it just takes one look at the big eyes to change my mind and invigorate me to serve her.

I think that’s the way our relationship with Jesus should be as well.