One enchanted evening, (you have to be my age to remember that song) I looked across a crowded room and saw a stranger.  And somehow I knew, I knew even then, that somewhere I’d see her again and again. Well I was right.  Although we were strangers—she, a delicate orange blossom from Florida and I, a hearty buckeye from Ohio— within three years we would be happily married.  How does it happen that total strangers, two very different people who never met before, could become so completely one?

The answer: by spending time together—lots of time.  We were together in the assembly hall, in the cafeteria, in the library, outside on the lawn, in the church, and at the Saturday night socials.  We were not just Dick and Betty, we became DickandBetty--in other words, inseparable.  But it was time well spent.

When my wife and I brought our first daughter home from the hospital, we were barely out of our teens.  What did we know about raising children?  Looking back, I’m glad the poor little baby didn’t know this, or she would have cried for other reasons.

During her pregnancy while coping with terrible nausea my wife read some childcare books and talked with experienced friends.  It wasn’t long before she began to figure out how things are supposed to work.  I say supposed to work because not every baby is a textbook baby; and in those first few weeks there were lots of interesting surprises.

It wasn’t long before we became accustomed to having a baby in the house.  Of course she couldn’t talk but we learned what she liked and didn’t like: sleeping meant she was happy, crying meant she wasn’t.  Seriously, how did we get to know her so thoroughly?  The answer is we spent a lot of time with that baby.  In fact, my wife spent every waking minute with her–that is, when the baby was awake--including sometimes in the middle of the night.  But what can I say; it was time well spent as long as I could sleep through it all.

We learned that knowing and understanding something or someone is in proportion to the time spent with it.  In other words, the more time we spend, the more we learn.  This is true of vocations and hobbies; and it goes without saying of relationships.

This is especially true when it comes to knowing and understanding God.  The more time we spend with Him, the better we will know Him.  Our Heavenly Father has all the time in the world for us, and He invites us to take time to get to know Him better.  He says, “I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17). 

Here are several prescriptions for how to spend time and become better acquainted with our Heavenly Father:

Nature.  Look at the wonders of nature all around you.  The green fields, the majestic trees, the buds and flowers, the passing cloud, the falling rain, the babbling brook, the starry skies invite us to learn more about the One who made them all.

The Bible.  Somewhere in my house, in a closet, on the top shelf, is a stack of letters my wife saved from our courting days when I lived in Ohio and she in Florida.  When we couldn’t be together, we would read and re-read those love letters.  You know, the Bible is like God’s love letter to us.  It unfolds the story of this world from beginning to end.  It tells of God’s everlasting love through stories, poetry, history, letters, and prophecies.  Spending time with the Bible is one of the best prescriptions we could follow for opening our heart to this Master Creator.

Prayer.  When my sweetheart and I were separated by miles, I would telephone her as often as I could afford it.  But it doesn’t cost anything to talk with our Heavenly Father.  He never refers His calls or uses an answering service, and His line is never busy.  He is there, as we say, 24/7, which means we can pray anytime day or night.

Relationships are about time.  The more time you spend with God, the closer you will be to Him.  Until one day you become GodandI—in other words, inseparable.  And it will be time well spent.