Are you a parent? As of today, I have been a parent for 16 years. My baby, who happens to be almost a foot taller than me, turned 16 today. He is beyond excited. I am trying to figure out where the time went. It seems like just yesterday a nurse walked in with him wrapped up tighter than a football and placed him in my arms. I remember looking down at that little face and thinking “How could I have just met him and be so madly in love with him?”
1 John 4:19 says “We love because He first loved us.” I clearly understood this verse as I looked into that sweet baby’s face. I would do anything for him. I instantly loved him to distraction and wanted to protect him. I would give my very life to save his. 1 John 3:16 says “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
Becoming a mother truly taught me what it means to be a child of God’s. I understand how He loves us even when we mess up. How we make Him angry, yet He never stops loving us. How He punishes us and allows us to go through hardships for our own good, even as it breaks His heart.
I would be crushed if I only talked to or spent time with my son once a week. I love him and I love hanging out with him. He’s fun and he brings a smile to my face….both of my children do. The Lord feels the same about us. He desires to have us hang out with Him, laughing, crying, or whatever we’re doing. He simply wants to be with us.
Take a moment today to sit with your Father. Allow Him to wrap His arms around you and tell you what He thinks about you. You are the apple of His eye [Psalm 17:8] and He takes great delight in you. Bless Him today with your love, time, and attention. You’ll be blessed in return.