God Holds Us Close

A five year-old girl brought home a crayon drawing which had been a project for her kindergarten class. When she delivered it to her mom, she was crying.  Some "mean boys" had made fun of her project picture.  Now, arriving at home, she was still upset because her picture didn't get picked to be placed on the class bulletin board.

The little girl went to sit on the front porch, unable to be consoled by the kind words of her mother.  Even though mom hung the picture on the refrigerator and complimented her work, she continued to cry.  She sat there for some time, re-living the events of the day........and still crying.

Then it was time for Dad to get home.  As he pulled his car into the driveway he knew something was wrong.  He could tell his daughter had not had a good day.  When he exited the car he was met by his little girl, now almost screaming, and trying to tell him of her disastrous day.

Her father scooped her up in his arms and held her tight.  The longer he held her close to himself, the hurt and hours of crying subsided.  It was as if the caress of her father and the encouragement that everything was going to turn out just fine, made her aware he understood and his understanding became good medicine for her.

Her story made me think of some of the wrestling I have in my prayer life.  I will admit for a long time I looked upon prayer as just one of the routines God expected me to do.  Like the little girl in the story, I realized one day there are events that happen in my life and I feel so empty when attempting to make the bad go away.  Those bad things kept haunting me and sometimes controlled me, until the day I learned that prayer is like climbing into God's lap and feeling his arms around me, drawing me closer to him.  He understands, and just the knowledge of his presence and his concern for me,  makes things better.

What is bugging you today?  The God who loves you wants you to know he understands and he cares.  He is longing to handle your tears, your stress, your difficulty.  We all need to experience his arms surrounding us, and his willingness to forgive, and his desire for us to be whole and complete.

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