. . .You love me! You are holding my right hand!
You will keep on guiding me all my life
with Your wisdom and counsel . . .
Psalm 73:23-24

Four sons! What fun! Fun mixed randomly with good-sized helpings of fear or frustration, some tears or dismay, definitely joy, always amazement–and other varied emotions! Somehow those kids thought that the emergency room was only open on weekends when the price was tripled and took advantage of it frequently! They learned from some wise person that if you would just smile and kiss your mama she’d forget a lot of things. And you know, when they were little it was pretty simple to quiet their fears and assure them that it would “stop hurting in a little while.” It was simply amazing what a new Hot Wheels car, an ice cream cone, a root beer, or a trip to the library could do! They held onto me and I could snuggle them on my lap and nuzzle my chin in their bristly crew cut. It was very fulfilling to have someone love me and trust me so much–to hold tightly to my hand and believe me when I said, “It’s going to be all right, Honey.”

And then something happened: They got too big for my lap and their pain was too deep to promise them that they would “stop hurting in a little while.” The ice cream and Hot Wheels cars lost their therapeutic value. I couldn’t make the hurts go away any more–but Bill and I had introduced them to Someone who would step in and take our place.

Then, when they grow up and they’re too big to sit on my lap, they still have Someone who will say to them, “Come over here and sit down by Me and let’s talk about what’s hurting. It’s going to be all right.”

I remember how fulfilled and how rich I felt when my boys needed me, came to me, and listened as I held them and tried to sooth the hurt. And you know, I believe it’s very precious to the Lord to have someone who needs Him, who loves Him, and trusts Him so completely that when He says, “It’s going to be all right,”–I believe Him.