Grumpy toddler

26 April 2026

By Pastor John-Jo Burns - International Congregation Pastor

At the pastoral team retreat in March, we were asked to go off by ourselves and spend 30 minutes with God. Afterwards, everyone shared how they had found the time. Well… everyone except me.

You see, the sharing was optional and, while the others had meaningful reflections on their time with God, I had nothing good to say. Throughout the whole retreat I was in a bad mood. I was worried about leaving my wife and baby overnight for the first time. I was worried because our son was unwell. I was worried because my phone was broken and so might not receive any calls for help. And I started getting sick at the beginning of the retreat and so had a sore throat and headache for most of the two days. All that means that my 30 minutes with God was mostly me stomping around and being quite grumpy with him.

I read once (though I can’t remember where) that our relationship with God is sometimes like the relationship between a grumpy toddler and their dad. They climb into their dad’s lap, beat their dad’s chest, cry and complain… and eventually fall asleep because they’ve let out all their feelings and are safe in their dad’s arms.

While the retreat ended before my bad mood did, how comforting it is to know that we can take all our feelings (including our grumpiness) to God, and He’ll welcome us, hear us, and lovingly hold us until we fall asleep. Thanks God.