Growing up, I thought the primary way to show affection was to serve. My family raised me to love through service—not a bad thing for a kid to learn, really. But somewhere along the way, I got the idea that God also only loves through doing. We need air to breathe, so He gave us trees. We can’t see in the dark, so He gave us the sun & moon. We fell, so He sent a Savior.
I am learning, slowly and falteringly, that God’s love and God’s affection are inextricably linked. That He draws me near, not out of mere necessity, but from sheer delight. That I am lovely because He loves me.
Wow. Just…wow.
And so I count these simple gifts—sent because I am His, and He shows His affection in ways my feeble understanding can grasp:
0201: A cancelled 9 AM class. Extra rest.
0202: Last test before finals, completed. And it went better than I expected, largely due to my friends who learn kinetically.
0203: “Why do you worry so much about things you can’t control?” [so. true.] Gentle reminders from friends.
0204: My memorization file. Categorized. Full of verses (both Scripture and poetry) and prayer requests to remember.
0205: Testimonies shared.
0206: They asked us for Bibles.
0207: 60 degree weather. Sunshine. In November!
0208: Prayer doesn’t change God…it changes me.
0209: Productive Saturday.
0210: Paper idea approved…and I’m really excited about this one.
0211: Feeling at home in a church. Truly at home.
0212: The tangibility of kneeling, of corporate prayer, of coming forward to receive Communion.
0213: The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures; He will my Shield & Portion be, as long as life endures.
0214: “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by the arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.” [Hosea 11.1-4 ESV]
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