I love babies! Baby humans, baby cats, baby dogs, baby (almost) anythings. They are cute and cuddly, small and fragile. Lately I’ve seen peachicks (baby peacocks), kittens, and puppies. I’ve noticed something common amongst baby animals lately: they follow the “Mommy.”

Baby animals seem to know where their mother is at all times. When she moves, they move. Where she goes, they go. When she settles in for a nap, they settle in (except maybe baby humans) too. As I reflected on how cute this is, I asked myself a question: How close do humans stay to their parents?

Of course, when we are young, we require so much from our parents. We depend on them for food, shelter, and love. As we grow older we become more independent. That’s the way that we are designed. Yet, our Designer intends for us to always stay close to Him.

Joshua said this to the tribes of Israel: “Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,'” Joshua 22:5 (ESV).

So learn a lesson from the babies. Stay close. Watch your Father. Watch what He does around you. Listen to your Father. Listen to what He says to you through the Bible, trusted preachers and teachers, and through godly counsel. Cling to your Father. Don’t wander off from Him.  This often happens when we pay more attention to what is going on around us than on what our Father is doing. It happens when we stop the routine of going to church. It often happens gradually, yet soon we are lost.

Try this: Play a game of “Follow the Leader” with your child. Skip, jog, and and walk in a zig-zag line. Remind your child to do what you do and to follow closely behind you. Once every family member has had a turn, take a minute to debrief. God wants us to follow Him. Can we follow Him if we look at our own feet or at someone else? (No) In order to follow God, we must watch Him, listen to Him, and stay close to Him. Say a family prayer of recommittment to stay close to God.