He Smiles!

Wyatt is sitting on the floor in his blue pj's with pictures of footballs, soccer balls, and basketballs.  Sitting is actually only partially correct.  At 10 1/2 months old, he stands up, sits down, crawls, sits up, walks along the couch, sits down, grabs the toy angel from the toy nativity scene, then jettisons that in favor of the palm tree from the aforementioned nativity scene, which is then slammed down on coffee table...and oh my God, he really just let go of the table and took two free hand steps to the ottoman!  Really, as I'm typing, he started walking forward with one arm on the coffee table, and then let go took two steps and made it to the ottoman and finished with a hilarious laugh, like "I'm the man! I've conquered it! Hahahahaha!"  His first steps!

OK, so my post is apparently going to take a different direction.  The title is still "He Smiles!" but I just didn't expect the smile to be for different reasons than when he was sitting on the floor.  Yes, this boy smiles (a lot) and there is joy in his progress.  His face shows it, and so do his parent's faces.  I used to look at growth in the Christian life as some dutiful, joyless pursuit, but experiencing our excitement for his "normal growth process" changes my perspective a little.  We don't love him any more because he just took two steps (I'm sad B is off at work and missed it...I called her first I promise!), but dear God it makes our hearts light up.

I wonder if God is just as excited when he sees us take our first steps?  Does his enthusiasm overflow?  I know that "without faith, it is impossible to please God."  Maybe our steps of faith, of trusting Him, provoke the same joy in Him and it pleases Him?  Today, I'm seeing that he (Wyatt) smiles when he experiences something new, in this case a few free steps, and I think He (God) smiles too.  It is rarely referenced in Scripture, but maybe that anthropomorphism (big word...look it up!) is left to the imagination.  If you are tempted to say that is "vain imagination" since we can't find much in Scripture, don't forget that John wrote that Jesus did so many amazing things that they would fill up all the world if they were to be written.  Apparently, they weren't written, since even the libraries of the world aren't stocked with "all Jesus, all the time" book sections, but that doesn't make what Jesus did any less real if it wasn't written.  What am I saying?  "God smiles" may not be a common biblical phrase, but He is the source of emotion, love, and joy so why would I doubt that "He smiles?"  I know I am right now!