Did Anyone Else Forget?

A friend of mine recently made a comment. A comment that shocked me. Not that she said it, but at what it meant.

She simply said this: "Been taken for granted? Imagine how God feels..."

It stopped me.

I've been taken for granted. And I hated it. I did not handle it with grace or compassion. Oh, I did my best, but after the 12th phone call waking me up, or being chewed out for not wiping a counter when I was busy covering this persons responsibilities? Any grace that had been there had left. Sure, they may have been hurting, but I was sleeping! Didn't they know better? Or they were getting yelled at and were incapable of doing their job, but I was at least trying! Why couldn't they see how much I was putting into them without getting anything back?

Obviously, I am very far from even a decent comparison with God. But I want to point out that that is only my remembrance of how I felt after being taken for granted. This probably isn't even close to what I would have written at 3 am after the 4th phone call. And it certainly lacks the pain I had when I was chewed out for the most miniscule details, which were still my fault no matter what the circumstances, if I'm being completely honest. But when I went to imagine how God feels, well, it made me remember that God has feelings!

Am I the only one who kinda forgot that?

I know He's a God who is Love, who stands up for me, claimed me as His own, no matter what I do. But I often only see Him as just that. I've made God all about me, and while He is, He is also so much more!  I forget that He's a God that made us in His own image, that He gets jealous. I remember that He hurts for me when I'm hurt, like a parent hurts for their kid, but I somehow forget that He can be hurt. That He craves my attention and recognition more than I crave Mexican tacos. That He's done this amazing act, you know, SAVING US, and all of it was just so He could have more time with us. He's saying to us all the time, "What I wouldn't do for you! Look at what I've done for you! Love Me! Spend time with Me!"

I don't know about you, but I often tell Him to go and sit in the corner quietly while I finish what I'm doing. Or to come back later. Or that He just doesn't get the situation. I don't mean to do it on purpose, but I do it. And now all I can picture is Him, sitting in a corner, thinking, "Aren't I enough?" It's time to go and curl up on His lap, to spend time with Him, getting to know His true nature, His desires. Because I've finally remembered.

Thanks for reading! It seriously means a lot. Really. I am constantly shocked that you guys continue to read my ramblings. Thank you!