Last Sunday, Pastor Michael taught that as sons and daughters of God we have access to the Throne of God anytime. What great news; we have a Heavenly Father who welcomes us into His presence anytime! Then, he told us there was a catch. In order to take advantage of our access, we have to “access our access!” We actually have to talk with Him. That sounds obvious, but the truth is, we often struggle to actually talk with the people we love the most.

Kim and I are empty-nesters who have been married for more than 35 years. We clearly have access to each other. Yet, now and then we can get so busy with life we can go for days without talking. We talk, but only about the business of life, not about our love for each other.

One time, when we realized we had fallen into that pattern, we decided to go on a date. We also decided we would avoid the topics of work, home repair, bills; the everyday stuff of life. It was almost hilarious. We found ourselves saying things like, “How’s your bread?” We’d been married for three decades and couldn’t think of anything to talk about!

Finally, one of us asked, “How are you feeling about life these days?” It wasn’t long before we found ourselves talking about our dreams, hopes and plans. It was like we were going back to the days when we first fell in love.

I wonder sometimes if we squander our access to God by only talking with Him when we need something. What if we “accessed” Him just to talk about our relationship. I wonder if we find ourselves falling in love with the Lord all over again.

Kim and I have kept our marriage fresh over the years by keeping that in mind. Jesus and I have too!