Reciprocated Love

My son loves me.  I mean, Hudson REALLY loves me.  I put a smile on his face, he finds comfort in my embrace, he protests (loudly) my physical removal from the room in which he resides.  He follows me up stairs, between rooms, clings to my legs while I walk from the sink to the stove.  His whole day is brighter when he lays eyes on me.  And do you know what?  I like it!  My sister says it’s payback for all the nights of interrupted sleep and countless diapers.  And, at fourteen months old, I know this level of expressing his love won’t last forever.  But still, I like it.

And God—who “needs” to be loved much less than I need it, is still delighted when we delight in Him.  He calls us to “draw near to” himself.  Psalm 37:4 urges us to “delight yourself in the Lord.”  Over and over in Scripture, there is the concept that God is glorified when we glory in Him.  We are commanded to love Him.  We are called to offer a “sacrifice of praise.”  Ours is not an unconditional love; indeed, it cannot be.  “We love Him because He first loved us.”

It’s so easy for Hudson to love me—he knows so little else at his tender age.  (Would that we could be less distracted by the lesser joys outside of Christ!)  Yet, if my baby’s joy makes me happy, wouldn’t I like to honor my Father-God by giving back the same kind of open love for Him that Hudson shows to me? “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name forever!”

Unconditional Love

I started reading a parenting book today, and the first point the authors make is that love for our children must be unconditional.  That is, we should love them for who they are and not for what they do. 

I have watched my children receive this kind of love from their grandparents.  I watch these adults adore and pet my precious daughter, and let’s face it, a toddler isn’t going to win you over with her accomplishments.  But they LOVE her.  And it’s the kind of love that delights to be in the presence of the loved one.  Sure, they appreciate what she does.  When she reaches a milestone (say, putting her own toothpaste on her toothbrush), they cheer for her.  But they love her accomplishments because they love her.  When she walks into the room, they smile.  She is the most beautiful, most intelligent, most talented, most everything person BECAUSE she is loved. 

I want to love others that way.  True love does not have prerequisites.  Love opens us to hurt.  Yet when we are hurt by those we love, we have a source of healing: the Christ who loved us while we were yet sinners, the Christ who has been hurt by every human he ever loved.  Most two year olds are easy to love, but there are some people . . . . Still, we are commanded to love one another. 

When I see my little girl climb confidently into her grandmother’s lap—knowing she is loved, expecting to find love, basking in that love—then I want to be that source of love for others who are seeking a safe place.  

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

Hi! I’m simply another mom trying to raise her children in the shadow of God’s grace.  Living it, failing, getting back up, loving the tender moments when all is right with the world.

The purpose of this blog is to see our relationship to God the Father mirrored in the relationships of physical parents and children. Scripture repeatedly compares our Father-God to an earthly father.  “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13).  Matthew 7 talks about our natural desire to give good gifts to our children.  Our perfect God wants to and has the ability to top us on every level!

Part of the blog will focus on the “where I am” of my life.  First, there's Steve, my husband and best friend, then my beautiful three-year-old girl Karissa, and also a handsome Hudson who is one year old.  My paychecks aren’t made of the stuff you can invest in financial institutions.  But I feel so blessed to be doing the job God has given me for this chapter of my life—wife and mother.

No illustration is perfect, and I beg forgiveness now for any “leaps” I ask you to take.  I hope, however, to stimulate your thoughts and bring you to the nugget of truth in each post.  And as you see things in your own life, I hope you will feel free to share them!