This e-letter was originally posted September 3, 2007. I am republishing it in honor of my father, Roscoe S. Edwards, who went to live eternally with the Lord on January 3, 2011.  I wrote it to honor him almost four years ago.  As I mourn his passing, it seems appropriate to share it again.  I''m so glad I chose to "linger in his presence" while he was here.   ********

I don’t know about you, but my life is fairly busy these days.  I’m a part of the “sandwich generation”.  Those who are still raising kids while simultaneously being parent to elder parents. 

 A few days ago my dear father, who will turn 86 this year, called me on the phone.  It was obvious that he was all set to have a nice long chat.  But I had things to do.  So I began to do what all busy people do.  I tried to hurry the conversation along.  Giving short answers.  Saying things like “ok, well, I gotta go…”, “Sure, sure, no problem, well, I gotta go…”, “That’s funny dad, ok will you take care now, I gotta go…”   Nothing was working!  He continued to talk.  Finally I gave in to the inevitable, finding a chair so I could settle in for a talk with my father.  We weren’t talking about anything in particular.  I wasn’t asking for anything like in the good old days.  We were just enjoying each other’s company.  Sharing stories, laughing and reminiscing about days gone by with little pieces of advice thrown in by my dad for good measure.  Before I knew it an entire hour had passed!  Then my father said something that touched me.  He said, “Daughter I sure have enjoyed talking to you.”  And I said, “me too dad.”  And I meant it.

 Later while taking a walk in the park, I was going over the conversation in my head and reflecting on how good it had been to spend time with my father.  I wondered why I had been so reluctant to hear all the old stories again or to simply talk about nothing at all.  Then I had what I’ve come to recognize as “a God moment.”  While thinking of my earthly father, it was easy to transition to thoughts of my heavenly Father.  How similar my behavior has been with Him on occasion.  There have been times when I’ve tried to have some quiet time with God but while flipping through my bible, I’ve heard myself saying, “oh I’ve read that before”, “I’ve already heard that”, “I know that lesson”.  And ultimately closing my Bible with a little prayer and going on about my day.

 It occurred to me that sometimes, our heavenly Father just wants to be with us in fellowship.  Not because we need advice on a pressing issue. Not because we’re asking for something.  And not because some emergency has happened in our lives.  But just as my earthly father demonstrated, sometimes God just wants us to enjoy each other’s company.  And God also likes to tell us the old, old stories that we’ve heard a million times, over again.  The stories of David and Goliath, of how Moses and the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, how Esther the queen helped to save her people – stories we know by heart but that never get old from the telling.  Sometimes, God wants us to share about the book we just read, or the funny incident that happened at the grocery store, or how our kitchen really needs a new floor but who can find anybody good these days to lay tile?! 

God simply wants to linger in our presence and have us linger in His.

So that is what I did.  I begin talking to God as I walked through the park – enjoying His company, telling my silly stories, listening with my heart for His stories and settling in for a nice long chat.  Before I knew it, we had walked 4 miles!

As I ended my walk in the park and headed to my car, I believe I heard Him say, “Daughter, I really enjoyed talking to you.”  And I replied, “Me too Dad.”

Oh the blessing of fellowship!  The wonder of lingering in His awesome presence! 

If your time alone with God has gotten routine, a series of you always asking for stuff, or if you’ve found yourself saying as I did, “Oh I’ve read that story before.”  Take time out to linger with God.  Find a place where you can sense His presence.  He will meet you there.  And you may find as I did, that your time together will have you coming back for more.