With the arrival of Spring came new sand for our backyard play area. My kids have spent what seems like every waking hour out there scooping and shoveling and digging. This afternoon, we invited our friends over to play with us.
The group quickly abandoned the idea of the sand pile and came back inside. Well, everyone except my daughter. She sat in the middle of the sand pile refusing to move. I had stepped back inside to check on the rest of the kids when my best friend came to the door and said, “She’s really really sad.”
Protest had turned to tears and tears had turned to sobs, and as I stepped back out onto the porch I found her in the middle of the pile covered in sand, tears and snot.
Silently, I walked to the middle of the pile, and sat down with her. Sand got into my clothes and shoes. It settled into the creases of my pants. I felt it slide down into my toes. But it didn’t matter.
I scooped her up into my lap and said, “It’s okay to be sad.”
I wiped her face. I brushed the hair out of her eyes, and I held her until she was ready to get up. It didn’t take long. But in just a few moments, again, my sweet baby taught me about the love of my Heavenly Father.
Sometimes, we just need someone to find us in our mess and not be afraid of it. Sometimes, we just need someone to sit down next to us. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded that we aren’t alone.
And that is exactly the way that our Heavenly Father loves us.
The mess doesn’t bother Him. He’s not afraid of getting dirty. He doesn’t need us to get out of our mess before He will love us. He doesn’t need us to brush off the junk before He will hold us.
He finds us right where we are and scoops us up. He holds us close and whispers, “It’s okay to feel the way that you do, and I will hold you until you don’t feel that way anymore.”
Sometimes the simplest moments can be the most profound. God is good, and He loves you right where you are.
