I love visiting with international students in our community. They are so kind and polite. They are always positive and very thankful when you cook a meal or give them a ride. One of the things I enjoy the most though is watching them play with our kids. They love family and miss being away from their family so they seem drawn to our rag tag crew.
It’s always fun to watch the
interactions between Stella and the students the first time they meet her. For
most, she is the first American baby they have ever held. They take pictures
with her, coo at her, and try to get her to talk. They ask questions about her
age and her development while they tell me how beautiful and precious she is.
They are delighted to meet her and every time I have one of these encounters I
am amazed by the attention and love my sweet girl receives. I see and hold many
babies in our community but for our international friends, Stella is the first
and that makes her special. That makes their candid meeting a photo opportunity
and they ask if I can take their picture while they hold her and smile at the
camera.
I woke up this morning with this
imagery on my mind and began to ponder the love of my Heavenly Father. It hit
me very hard and strong as I remembered the excitement and joy Stella gave our
new friends. You see our Heavenly Father loves us as if we were the only one.
God would have sent Jesus to pay the price for my sins if I were the only one
in need of being saved. He greets me everyday with an intensity only given to a
first encounter because the Bible says His love and mercies are made new every
morning.
God loves us all with a depth that
cannot be measured and desires to give us love and attention to fill the void
left by sin and abandonment. Those who embrace the sacrifice Jesus made on the
cross become part of an eternal family, Christ’s beautiful and precious bride
the church. So they will always have community and be loved in a real and
valuable way.
As I watch sweet Stella sleep in her bassinet, I celebrate the intense love God has for us. I celebrate the
sacrifice that was made so I could have an encounter with my Creator. I delight
in His love and the family I am part of in Christ Jesus. Our God came down from
heaven in the form of a man to meet us in our shame and restore our brokenness.
There was nothing candid about this plan to save humanity and that makes Him
special.
God’s
loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning. How great is your faithfulness! I’m sticking
with God. He’s all I’ve got left.
~Lamentations
3:22-24
No comments:
Post a Comment