I have been away for nearly a week.

In that time I have missed out on a number of experiences of my family that normally I would have enjoyed. I have missed jokes, meals, prayers, hugs, kisses, laughter, stories, arguments, fights, stress … the list could be endless.

My family has changed in their interaction while I have been away. I have changed in my interaction with others while I have been away.

altogether I have enjoyed much of my time away it has been hard – flipping hard most of the time. The pain of wanting to feel the touch, or hear the voice, or just be in the warmth of the family has been very noticeable. It’s good to be back.

But it is different and in some ways it is richer. I am living proof today that absence does make the heart grow fonder. Being away has shown me how much I love being in a great family. I was quite surprised how much I missed Sarah and the children.

It has made me wonder on my relationship with God. Those times, you know, when God is not there. Yeah I know he’s always there but there are times when it feels like he isn’t. Those times when we say ‘I know God’s in this’ but really, honestly, in the raw, we mean ‘God has gone, he’s disappeared, he’s got better things to do’.

If it felt like God was there all the time, would we become complacent in our love for him? If he was there all the time would we forget how much we love him? If God was there all the time would we stop noticing him?

I wonder … do we need those times when God’s absence to keep us going? Is it in those times of absence that we remember who God is, and how much we love him? Is it in those times that our hearts grow fonder of our creator? Maybe absence is a core part of the evolution of our relationship with God?