Under the Blanket

A couple of weeks ago marked a momentous occasion in our household. A ‘coming of age moment’ you might say. My little girl and I watched Cinderella (the original Walt Disney version) for the very first time. Well, it was her first viewing, I obviously watched it hundreds of times in my childhood, and I think my sister and I probably wore the VHS thin throughout the mid-’90s.

We had a wonderful afternoon, we snuggled up on the sofa with our popcorn. She loved the singing mice and the beautiful ballgown, the pumpkin carriage made her laugh and we sang along with the fairy godmother. The cat however, was not so popular. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers – although this film is now 70 years old, so I’m not sure they count as spoilers anymore – but the cat is a little bit scary.  Every great story needs a villain, and as far as my 3-year-old was concerned, this cat was the ‘bad guy’. Every time the nasty feline slunk on screen, she whipped the blanket over her head clung tight to me, and waited for his mischief to end before peeping back out for the next part of the story.

The good news is that in true fairy-tale fashion the good guys won, the bad guys got their come-uppance, love conquered all, and everyone finished with a song. But it got me thinking about that ‘under the blankety’ feeling. I think we have all had days when we’ve wanted to hide away. Maybe this ‘weird season’ of crisis, grief and lockdown I wrote about previously has given you a few ‘under the blankety’ moments?

The safety though, for my 3-year-old, was not under the blanket. It was her closeness to me. In her moments of uncertainty and anxiety, she was clinging tightly to me, the blanket was just extra! Thinking about it later, I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of her example. In an ‘under the blankety’ moment, she found her comfort and security in getting as close as she could to her mum. A challenge from God hit me squarely between the eyes. When I have my ‘under the blankety’ moments, who am I drawing near to? When fear jumps up or anxiety settles in, who am I running to for comfort and support? When crisis hits, am I clinging to God or am I just grabbing a blanket?

These past few weeks, along with the other leaders of our church we’ve been praying and asking God what he’s saying to us during this time. One thing that has come through very clearly in pictures, bible verses, stories and testimonies is that God is inviting us to get closer to him. To invest in our relationship with him. To seek out greater intimacy with our heavenly Father in our day to day life. I don’t think he’s speaking just to a few individuals, I think this is an open invitation.  This is Jesus, arms wide open, ready to spend time. with. you.

There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you”. It means this is not a one-way street, you take a human-sized step towards him and God takes a giant-sized leap towards you. What an invitation! God, creator of the universe wants to get to know you more and to show you more of his heart. He has given us the Holy Spirit here on earth right now, ready and waiting for hearts that are turned toward him. He is inviting us into a deeper conversation, a more profound experience, a more intimate relationship than ever before.

And the joy of this invitation is that it is so very far from complicated. In those ‘under the blankety’ moments, we can choose to get closer to a God who loves us and wants the best for us. Day by day as we turn our hearts towards him, he opens more of his heart to us. And in exchange for our fear and anxiety, he offers us comfort, security and hope.