Like a child

On Sunday I went with my brother and his girlfriend to a Presbyterian church down the street. It's one of those churches where the young children are called out of the service several songs in so they can have their own, child-accessible sermon in a separate room. The pastor went on to talk about getting in God's way or something - to be honest, the sermon didn't stick with me that well. I get distracted easily. It was towards the end of the service when the kids came back into the sanctuary and rushed around to find their parents who were still in the pews when I became focused on the moment.


Two rows in front of me was a little girl, age 5 or so. She had on a pastel green dress with a matching bow in her almost-white hair. This little girl climbed up on the pew next to her mother, stood up, and held open her arms, just waiting for her mom to pick her up. As we were singing at the time and were standing, facing the altar, the mother did not notice right away what her daughter was doing. The little girl continued to stand, hands outstretched as widely as possible. When the mother glanced over, she immediately reached down to pick up her child. The little girl clung there and our eyes met. She stared at me with big blue eyes shyly peaking over her mother's shoulder. It was so sweet, I teared up.

Recently, I have so often been crying out for comfort from God, for Him to pull me in His arms and keep me safe. The moment in church was a perfect image to represent what God does every day as a way to show He loves us, whether we feel it or not. He is always willing to pull us close, soothe our troubled emotions, simply be there. I picture myself sitting on His knee, sometimes telling Him about my day and my thoughts, sometimes just being there with Him and soaking up all His goodness and wonderfulness and love.

Like the little girl in church, I am standing on a pew with my arms open. And God is reaching to pull me in close.