If you're new here, I'll let you in on a little secret: I like to paint...
And this week's post is a bit different. Here's a watercolor painting of the kids that I have been babysitting! With a 3 year old and one year old twins, they have kept me busy, but I love being with them.
As I have spent time with them, God has given me a glimpse of what love really is.
Unconditional love is something that I have a hard time fathoming. How can I just BE loved? Don't I have to EARN love? Oftentimes I cannot believe that God could actually love me, and I'm sure many of you can relate.
But through spending time with these kids, I am beginning to understand that such an unconditional love exists.
I love these kiddos. It doesn't matter if I am changing diapers or soothing tantrums; I adore them. I never want to leave them each day. I cherish the feel of their warm bodies in my arms, as I sing lullabies and rock them to sleep. A mere smile makes my heart burst. If they stray from me, I call out to them because I desperately want to be near them. And I get excited when they crawl over to me because each moment with them is so precious.
I see their faults, I know their flaws, and I don't care.
I don't care about what they do or how they act, I just want to hold them in my arms and hug them forever.
And they have done nothing to deserve my love.
They haven't done anything spectacular, they aren't child prodigies. They just go about their days eating and sleeping and playing. But that's more than enough for me to fall head over heels in love with them.
I love them for no other reason besides this: they exist. Just BEING is enough, and unconditional love ensues.
Now, I am just the babysitter, spending a handful of months with them. Imagine how much greater their mother and father love them, those who witnessed their growth from cells to souls.
And then imagine this: imagine the love of the Father--
The One who formed them from dust, who molded them in their mother's womb, who bottles away every tear they cry and counts each hair on their heads.
The One who sees who they will become, sees the sins they will commit, and has chosen to love them and die for them anyway.
This is love, unconditional and uncontainable, and it is ours to receive. What a good Father, friends. What a good Father.
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