Love messages
I hadn’t seen her in seven hours. Two days a week, we spend a little time apart so she can learn and play with friends while I check off my to-do list.
The reunions are always sweet. Absence making our hearts grow fonder. And on those two days, when I walk into the gym to pick her up, she runs like lightening towards me, arms stretched, face glowing, yelling, “MOMMMMMMMYYYY!” We embrace, kiss, and all is right with the world.
Except last week.
She barreled her ways towards me, but her face told a different story. Rather than squealing my name with glee, she yelled, “YOU DIDN’T PUT A MESSAGE IN MY LUNCHBOX. I’M ANGRY!”
Never mind I’d taken time the night before to pack a lunch full of her favorite foods. Or that I’d dug through the candy bowl in search of her favorite treat to include as a sweet surprise. Or, that waiting outside in the car, I had her favorite post-school snack and drink ready in her cupholder.
The dozens of ways I’d shown my love to her that day were all negated by the fact that I’d forgotten to put a sticky note on the top of her lunch box. As if writing it on a little piece of paper truly proved my affections.
God reveals His love to us daily. Hourly. Minute by minute.
And yet it is so very easy to overlook it. Because, the truth is, we’ve grown accustomed to it. The things that once delighted us, that took our breath away, that thrilled our hearts, are now the expectation. The norm.
And they’re no longer enough.
No, if God were to prove His love, He’d do this. Or He’d do that. Or He’d give me this. Or He’d remove that.
If God really loved me He would…
But every day, God handcrafts a sunrise to wake us and paints a beautiful sunset to tuck us in at night. He supplies food for our bellies and a home for our hearts. He surrounds us with friends to help us and families to support us.
He’s given us a world of color. Oceans full of amazing creatures. Beautiful landscapes. Refreshing rain and crips snow, warm sunrays and cools breezes. New babies to snuggle. Music to comfort. Coffee beans, cocoa beans, sugar cane, and dairy.
Honestly, you needn’t look past your next breath, your next heartbeat, to realize God’s love for you.
It is everywhere.
And it is endless.
But just in case you don’t see it. If all of creation isn’t evidence enough. Then remember this… that God so loved the world (you, included) that He gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
God loves you, my friend. Deeply.
