The things God loves

Every night when I’m putting August to bed, I pray for the man he’s going to grow up to be. Some days (especially the extremely whiny ones like yesterday) I pray with more intensity than usual.

My prayer usually goes like this: Asking God to make August a man to who follows Christ his whole life, a man of gentleness, compassion and generosity. A man who loves the things that God loves. A man of mercy and justice.

Last week, August interrupted my prayer to ask: “What are the things God loves?”

That question sort of caught me off-guard. See, I pray using that phrase because I assume that God is going to get my drift and I don’t necessarily have to be specific. I had to think and speak carefully.

“God loves people,” I said. “He especially loves people who are sad or sick or hungry. God loves kids who don’t have toys. He loves people who don’t have friends. He loves beautiful things. He loves it when we play and dance and sing. He loves it when we laugh. He loves for us to take care of each other and be a good friend and share and take turns.”

My answer was small but worth getting choked up about. I so long for August and Brooksie to love those things! So, I thought it might be a good question to pose to you, dear reader.

What comes to your mind when you think of “the things that God loves”? What are you learning to love that God has been loving all along?