Until this morning. I don’t recall the last time I rolled out of bed at 9:20. I was up around 6 am and went back to bed. My days are jumbled after an exceptionally long week without my husband. Still, we both wanted to attend church, be with our people and pay our tithe. We had under twenty minutes to brush our hair and get dressed.

Still, it was a peaceful drive to church. I shared Megan Wood’s “Royal Blood” and Elevation Worship’s Radio version of “Trust in God”. It felt good to share two of the songs given to me in his absence—-then to sing Christmas Carols at church with Mark.

Today’s sermon was Matthew 7:7 — Ask. Seek. Knock.

I’ve been living in variations of 7’s and 14’s for a while now. I just wrote in the past few days about “Bangles Suzanne” losing both her mother and grandmother on July 14, different years. 7+ 7=14.

What stood out most was the reminder that these are not suggestions. They are commands. Present imperative tense. Ongoing. Repetitive. Continuous.

You don’t ask once. You don’t seek once.

You don’t knock once and walk away.

You keep asking. You keep seeking. You keep knocking.

Christmas itself is an invitation, and so is this passage. God is not bothered by our pursuit—He invites it. In fact, Matthew 7:7 feels like proof that God wants His kids just a little stubborn… stubborn enough to keep chasing Him.

Brother Shad said something that made the whole church smile—he talked about telling his wife “I love you” every day since the first time he ever said those words to her.

I couldn’t help myself and said, “Aww,” out loud, Suffice it to say, the church agreed and it was a beautiful, light moment of sweet laughter. But it landed deeply. You don’t say “I love you” once and call it done. Love is daily. Pursuit is daily. Relationship is daily.

There was a moment where I felt a surge—and then heard that same surge echoed through Shad’s sermon.

There was holy fire being stoked with each word out of his mouth.

He shared about praying for something for fifteen years and enduring the silence. My note was “ must stand in the gap. After church, Mark and I prayed together for that very thing, whatever it may be, to be answered. We don’t need the details, The Boss has every last one covered. Our job is to intercede, especially when being nudged the way I was being nudged. I prayed out loud while Mark drove.

Crying out in submission and pleading is not weakness—it is active pursuit.

Lamentations 3:58 has been in my heart again: “O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul.”

And yet, here I am, still pleading—because that’s the invitation.

Jesus even brings humor into Matthew 7:7. Then again, I am a huge fan of Divine Humor and love it when others acknowledge it. Brother Shad talked about giving a good gift of a pink bicycle and having it not be received the way one would expect. When he mentioned his red-haired Olivia, and my heart immediately thought of a friend who lost her baby Olivia last summer.

I owe Miss Kristin a phone call. 💜✝️💜

In the same breath, I couldn’t help but think of a gift I recently gave—something placed with love and obedience—that hasn’t been acknowledged at all.

I confess—-in my flesh—- that stung. Of course it did. Still, I remember Jesus wept, too. While I haven’t cried about the lack of acknowledgement, it’s because the Holy Spirit has told me quite clearly my job was to be obedient. I did exactly what He told me to do and even painful obedience makes my soul do a “happy sigh”.

So, the Lord met me there too. It’s not about the response. My part was obedience and that part is done.

Today’s sermon laid directly on top of that truth.

Psalm 84:11 says, “No good thing will He withhold.”

Luke 11:13 reminds us that God gives what we need, not always what we want.

James 1:5 says to ask God for wisdom.

James 1:17 reminds us every good and perfect gift comes from Him. My son’s birth announcement is 25 years old and that was the verse printed before he arrived on his due date.

So, yes—we resist, and we keep resisting. We knock, and we keep knocking. We go back to the beginning again and again.

I thought of my daughter today—more than once. At first, I thought of her when Shad talked about a VW Bug he got wrapped like Herbie for Olivia. Later in the service, I kept picturing all of God’s kids seeking His attention. I pictured how my own get my attention.

My daughter will call out “Mom, mum or Lois”over and over, like Stewie in that cartoon. It made me smile, because that’s exactly the picture Jesus is painting. Repetition. Dependence. Persistence.

Lord, forgive me for the moments it hurts when someone tries to squash what You are singing through me. It’s not about me. It’s about You. Help me remember that.

Ask.

Seek.

Knock.

And keep doing it. Thats the job. Love everyone on my path exactly where they may be. Love them all in truth and action. Yessir.