I am Loved Deeply, from the Heart

I was on an outing with this five year old cutie pie we call Super Girl on our blog.  She came with me on a fabric shopping excursion today.

I hadn't really planned on shopping for fabric...I thought I had all I needed in order to make a one-year photo quilt for Mini Maiden but when I began laying things out I decided I needed more pink...a girl can never have too much pink!  So I texted Rock Star to see if Super Girl might be available and she was!

I picked her up and we headed out.  It wasn't until we were actually on way that I decided where to go.  Super Girl hadn't had lunch yet and I thought that would be our first stop but she said she wasn't hungry yet and wanted to wait to eat.  I'm flexible so I steered the van toward Hobby Lobby because I love that store!

We found some perfect fabric choices right away and were just looking at lots of things because there are lots of things to look at there!  I thought several times I should tell Super Girl we needed to go but we were having such a good time and I don't get her to myself very often so we took our time.

As we were headed toward the front, I saw a familiar face...

This beautiful woman is a friend from years ago.  She mentored me when I was younger and still had four daughters in my nest.  We lived in the same town and attended the same church.  She loved me unconditionally and radiated the love of God.  I basked in her presence then and she has continued to love me (and I her) from a distance since we no longer live in the same town.  Some day I will see this face in heaven and get to spend more time with her.

She noted today that God brings special people into our lives.  I know what she means.  From a human perspective there is no rhyme or reason for the great love we share; yet God knit our hearts together years ago in a way that I am convinced will endure forever.

As we visited, my sweet little Super Girl was SO very patient!  She browsed the displays on either side of us being careful to always keep in my sight and never once fussed about taking so long (and I know she was getting hungry).  She even took this picture of us for me.

Some days, God smiles or winks at His children to show His great love; and today He brought me so much joy I could hardly contain it!  It was a simple miracle just for me that we were in the same place at the same time...I know without a doubt that He orchestrates our lives.  Thank You, Father!  I love You too!

1 Peter 1:22

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

A Lesson Learned from a Little One

Pop and I love our grandchildren beyond any love we could have ever imagined and have learned a little bit about the nature of God through our children and grandchildren.  

As we gathered for Thanksgiving this year, Rock Star's and PhoJo's only daughter illustrated a truth about God that I will always treasure.  

You see, there is something special about our little Super Girl...something very quiet, very sweet, something that draws you into her world.  She shares herself in a way that children seem better at than adults.  She is open and transparent.  She is kind and gentle.  She gravitates towards the babies and sweetly talks to and touches them. 

She also has a heart for her Pop that is just precious.  When we are all gathered and there is total chaos all around, she makes her way to her Pop and climbs up in his lap to visit with him.  Nothing big.  No production. No wanting her own way.  She just wants to be close to him.

"Thanksgiving Pilgrim Super Girl"

So in the crazy time before we sat down to eat, Pop asked the grandchildren to share their favorite thing about Thanksgiving.  He started with the oldest and worked his way down the line.  We heard sweet things like "coming to the farm" and fun things like "I'm thankful for the pilgrims who settled in America."  When Supergirl's turn came, the bigger kids were ready to move on to eating and were not so quietly listening...

While Pop and I tried to hear her (be still my heart), she stepped over close to him with her eyes locked on mine (sniff), she leaned in and wrapped both arms around Pop's leg as he leaned against the kitchen counter, gently laid her head on his thigh and said what she wanted to say...confident that she was being heard by both her Pop and Grammy (tears falling and lump in my throat).  That sweet image is seared on my brain and heart forever.

As Pop and I talked that night, I related that I saw in that moment a full-color illustration of  what our relationship can be like with our heavenly Father.  When there is chaos all around us, all we have to do is lean into the Father.  We don't have to worry.  We don't have to compete.  We simply draw near, knowing full well that we are welcome and loved and heard.

Hebrews 4:16 (Young's Literal Translation) puts it this way "...we may come near, then, with freedom, to the throne of the grace, that we may receive kindness, and find grace -- for seasonable help."

One of my favorite authors of late, Ann Voskamp who ties being thankful with being in God's presence put it this way in her book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, "The practice of giving thanks...eucharisteo...this is the way we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes.  We don't have to change what we see.  Only the way we see."

I want to be with God the way Supergirl is with Pop.  I'll keep watching and learning from the children.  They have much to teach me. 

Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Super Girl with her Dad, Mom, and brothers

Love is a Sacred Trust

Oh a whim, Pop and I called the Superheroes after we had enjoyed dinner out last night.  We were not in need of any superhero feats; we just missed them and were not too far away.  We had heard they were going to see Arthur's Christmas earlier in the day and hoped to hear what the "critics" had to say about it.  So we called.  They were home...but not alone...Romeo and Pretty Princess had come for dinner. BONUS!  We got two of the four sisters in one "drive by visit."  But that is not what this post is about.

When we arrived, the superheroes greeted us warmly as did Pretty Princess and Romeo.  Then something amazing happened.  Something that possibly only I caught.  As I scooped up the Supergirl and talked to her, our eyes locked...not just for a second or two...but for a while.  This little, tiny (not yet two years old) girl...sweet, sassy, adorable little girl looked deep into my soul as I gazed upon hers through the windows we call eyes.  In just a minute or maybe a little more, we saw each other...completely...and loved each other.

This phenomenon has happened at some precious point in time with each of our children and grandchildren when they were small and it takes my breath away each time.  With each child, it is new and different, yet old and familiar, warm and comforting, just as it should be.

I awoke in the wee hours this morning thinking about it and realize that the love I have for my family, my friends, my fellow human beings is a sacred trust...just as my precious little granddaughter completely trusts me and trusts in my love...I am obligated...by my love...the love given to me by our Heavenly Father that is true and good and perfect...to give my best.  Not out of guilt.  Not because I should.  Not because of any outward manipulation. Simply because I love.

I remember the very first time I felt this kind of love for Pop. I was in the fifth grade and he was in the sixth. I had seen him before and knew who he was but one day as I met him on the stairs at school (for some reason it was just the two of us – we must have been running errands for our teachers), I saw him for the first time as someone I loved. I awkwardly said, “Hi” and he nodded. I was deeply impacted. I can still see the sunlight streaming in the window highlighting his blond hair, blue eyes, and strong shape. We didn't date until high school but God firmly planted something in my heart that day I didn't quite understand. I didn't chase after him or stake any claims; but I was filled with a sense of assurance in the way I felt about this handsome boy.

Before I give anyone the impression that I have some kind of super power on my own to love, let me just say that "We love  because He first loved us." (I John 4:19) God IS love and love originates with Him.  I am grateful for that love and grateful that He chooses to love others through us.  God's Word says it best...I John 4:7-12 says, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us."

I am so grateful to God for His love and so grateful for the ways and the times that love is visible in my life.  It is a free gift and there is a reader happening upon this post who hasn't experienced it, you are not reading by accident...God set it up...He orchestrated it...He chose to use me to convey to you right now that He loves you.  Just say "Yes" to Him.  You will never be sorry.