As the small boy held the stone aloft ready to throw his mother yelled across the grassy bank. ‘Keiron – put that stone down! Come here now!’ 
Head bowed he slowly made his way across the park to his mum, his lip quivered in anticipation of the telling off that followed. Tiny step by tiny step he closed the gap. 

Seconds later a father called out to a second child, ‘Daniel come here son!’ 

The second boy scampered across the grass at speed and jumped into his fathers lap. His dad let out a grunt as the boy hit him full force in the chest. 

Kieron was now only a quarter of the way to his mother, taking the tiniest of steps. A little girl looked up and questioned ‘Why did you shout at him?’ 

Before she could receive an answer she skipped across the grass and met Keiron at the half way point. She spoke softly in his ear took him by the hand and walked him to his mother. 

Instead of shouting at the child the mum told him to sit down, put a protective arm around him and drew him close to her side. What followed was not a telling off but a gentle question: ‘What were you doing Keiron?’ 

Tears sprang to the little boys eyes, tears of relief and then of apology as he realised that launching a rock at another child wasn’t what he should be doing. 

Looking on at the unfolding events God spoke to my heart – this is what you are like. 

When you think you are in a good place with me when you hear me call you run and fling yourself into my arms, happy, contented, boldly because you know you can. 

But when you know you have done something wrong you are hesitant, you dawdle and procrastinate thinking I’m going to scold you! You end up needing some encouragement from a friend, or a loud poke from the Holy Spirit before you bring yourself home to me. 

My beautiful child, come boldly before me in good times and bad. I’ve loved you, I love you and I’ll always be loving you. 

When I call out to you, when it feels like I’m shouting, when your conscience seems to stab you through the heart in the midst of your sin, it’s not because I’m angry, it’s because I love you! 

Please know that God’s not angry with you, He wants you to come to Him in any and every circumstance. So call out to Him not just in the good but in the bad too.