The school where I work occasionally has book sales. Recently, as I was perusing some of the new selections, I found what has now become my all-time favorite book for children, Wherever You Are, my love will find you, by Nancy Tillman. I think any parent, or grandparent, could relate to this book…”I wanted you more than you ever will know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go.” “My love is so high, so wide and so deep, it’s always right there, even when you’re asleep.” The words (and illustrations!) are beautiful, but what drew me most to this book was the realization that, whether we are aware of it or not, our God loves us more than we “ever will know.”
In the past couple of months, our family has run the gamut of emotion, the grief of untimely death, the exaltation of birth, the heaviness of health challenges. In each circumstance, God has overwhelmed us with His presence, His power and, most of all, His love. A dear friend recently joked with me that “life is good…..but livin is hard!” Her words made me smile, but recent circumstances made me readily agree that “life is hard!” God never said it would be easy. His Word tells us, “When (not if) you pass through the waters, I will be with you….When (not if) you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned….” (Isaiah 43:2). God’s promise is that He would be with us, anywhere, in any circumstance.
Isaiah 41:13 has become one of my favorite scriptures, "For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you 'Fear not, I will help you.'" When our children were toddlers, we loved holding their trusting hands and walking with them. We delighted in sharing the wonders of the world around us while wanting to protect them from any hurt or pain. It’s fair to say we would have done anything to protect them and give them a good life. If it were possible, we would have taken their hurts upon ourselves and shielded them from pain. In the heart of a parent God opens a window into His own heart. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) We know this verse well, having seen it on countless bumper stickers, banners at sporting events, and written as graffiti on highway overpasses. But the words bounce off of us in the complacency of familiarity rather than astounding us with the depth and power of their meaning. But pause for a minute to let the words sink in…..the Creator of the universe, Star-breather, life-giver, so loved the world (Gk, “kosmos” meaning the created world and its inhabitants) that He gave His only Son. Perhaps when God created a parent’s heart, He wanted us to understand a little of the magnitude of this gift. There simply was nothing more valuable or precious that He could give. Why would He do such a thing? that we might have life, as part of His family, forever. “What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God” (I. John 3:1). No, God doesn’t protect us from every painful circumstance. Rather, He uses these trials to refine and purify us, like a goldsmith burning away the dross until he can see his own reflection in the precious metal. There have been moments in the past few weeks when God has overwhelmed me with the immensity of His love. In Ephesians 3, Paul prayed that we “being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend ….the width and length and depth and height…to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge….” Simply put, wherever we are, God’s love will find us….