My husband recently changed responsibilities at work and his new role means that he has to travel and be away from home from time to time. Fortunately the trips are never long and he’s usually home within a couple of days but his absence from home changes the dynamic of our household. Jobs and duties that he normally does around the house, need to be completed by somebody else, usually me, and I never manage to do them in quite the same way. The house is less full with one person missing and you can just tell that something is different.
Business as usual
During the day when everyone is busy going about their daily routine as usual, not having everyone in the same place is less noticeable. My kids go off to school much the same as when Dad is around. They get on with their tasks and don’t really give their father a second thought. It’s at night when everything quietens down and we are usually all together as a family that they miss him the most. Speaking to him on the phone from a distance doesn’t seem to help when all you want is a cuddle and my oldest daughter tells me frequently that it “doesn’t feel right without Daddy”.
No substitute
Whether we acknowledge Him or not, we have a Father in heaven who desires to be a part of our lives. When we keep Him away from us, by choosing not to recognise who He is, we may be able to function just fine, but the gap He leaves in our lives will still be there. To fill the role that He should be playing in our lives we tend to look to other, lesser things to make do, but they don’t fulfil the need quite like God can.
In the busyness of life we can easily continue without giving God a second thought. The speed with which things happen around us can drown out the realisation that something is missing, but it’s in the quiet moments when we are more aware of the relational hole that is missing a vital part. The truth is that without God it just “doesn’t feel right”.