When I was in the business world I longed to be in full-time ministry so I could have more time with God. Now that I've been in ministry (25 years) I long to be in business so I can have more time with God.

There's no magic answer to spending time with God; you either make time or you don't. Lately, though, this thing we call "time with Him" has been hard to find. I've been buried in a project and I can feel the difference; it's just like when my wife and I are busy and don't see each other much. It's just different.

I know He understands, and He really does. I don't "shut Him out"; it's just not the normal ongoing conversation we have every day. Bottom line: when things get this focused I just "miss" Him.

I don't worry about His love for me; that is forever embedded in my soul. I don't worry about the devil and I don't worry about, well, I don't worry about much of anything. Even though I know He's with me and He'll never leave me I still "miss" him.

We all go through times like this. Some people think the way to "solve" this is to spend more time in the Word or time in prayer or time in this or that. Fact is, missing Him is OK and this season shall pass. Seasons of longing are good for relationships. It's a powerful reminder of the importance of the relationship. (If you didn't care it's obviously not much of a relationship!)

The week before a trip overseas I'm so busy getting ready I miss my wife even before I get on the plane. When I land at my destination I am so busy I don't have much time to think about anything but the task at hand, but I still miss her. By the time I'm on my flight home I'm so exhausted I don't think about anything and when I get home it takes me a week to get back to normal. She is so patient with me it's amazing, but if we just "get in the zone" we can go too long being busy and our relationship get's stale. No matter what we're doing for God and other people we have to focus on our relationship or "we" get lost along the way.

Whether it's God or my wife or my kids or my friends, I go through times when I really miss them. I've learned that it's OK and I treasure the thoughts I have for them during these times. I fight the sense that I should "do something about it" and just prayerfully go about my life. But, there are times when the grass looks greener "over there". Fact is, I've been over there. No matter where you are you just have to stay focused on what's truly important and realize that real love isn't destroyed by having a lot on your plate. We're here a short time and there's much work to get done. But you do have to water things to keep them alive.

We have a plant in our sun room that we've "killed" so many times by not watering it's embarassing. It's broad leaves just lay limp and we wonder if it's even worth watering any more. But, we water it and within a few hours those same leaves are standing up strong again. It's pretty amazing. So is my relationship with God and my wife and my kids. I've never experienced anything on earth like it.

And that's why I treasure them all and that's why I miss them when I get busy. Where's that watering can...