This month has been especially exciting for my wife, Julie, and I because our little girl is just learning to walk. We sit on the floor, and encourage her with extended arms and smiles as we cheer, “Come to Daddy.” Sometimes she makes a perfect bee-line walk, and once in a while she will spin, contort or twist before she finally goes bump. The best part is how we laugh and root for her when she falls down.
It is interesting to consider that when she falls – you could say she made a mistake. Even though she makes mistakes we keep on loving her, and we still think she is a perfect and precious baby.
We know our baby will fall down again and again in her life, but we have already made the decision that we are going to always love her. In fact, as she makes mistakes in life, we’ll worry about her and pray for her even more than we usually do. All because we love her. And she will still be a perfect child of God, made in His image.
Isn’t it interesting to know that God loves you and me – all the time. No matter how many times we fall. No matter what our mistakes, God loves us.
We all make mistakes, and some people make more than others. The guy who cut you off in traffic simply made a mistake, but God still loves him. Someone who has hurt you made a mistake, but God still loves them too. I’ll be the first to say that I make plenty of mistakes, so I want to thank you, God, for still loving me.
Last night was an unusually warm October night, so we had a campfire in the backyard. I stayed and watched the fire, long after everyone else had gone home to sleep. A slight breeze made the fire crackle and dance, while the frogs echoed from no-where and everywhere, their singing seemed to fill the dark sky.
I felt like I had one of those wonderful moments, like I was alone with God. It was beyond watching the fire or listening to the sounds of the night – it was like I was in the scenery, and I was a part of the sounds and a part of this moment in time. It was almost as if the experience needed me, just to be there to enjoy it.
But the best part was that I wasn’t really alone. I simply raised my arms to heaven and praised God for being with me, for loving me, and sharing this wonderful time with me. And the moment became even better.
I think it’s amazing how the most beautiful of sunsets is always better when someone is next to you to share the experience! Seeing it alone is good, but sharing makes almost anything great.
And isn’t it great, that our God is always with us, to make everything in life even better.
I went for a walk in the park with my nephew who told me what a tough time he had fitting in with the other kids in his new middle school. I felt pain and sadness in his voice just as much as his words and I wanted to help.
I had a whole pocketful of change, so I put 4 pennies on a bench face down, and one penny face up. I asked him which penny he wanted to be if he could be just one. Of course, he picked the one that was face up, because it was different.
Then I asked him to open his hand and tell me which one of his digits he would choose. My nephew studied his hand for all of a few seconds, and saw how his thumb was set apart from his fingers, so he told me he would choose his thumb.
Isn’t it interesting that we all struggle to fit in, when deep down inside we really want to be ourselves and stand out.
Hello, my name is Mark Arens and I am the founder of ThumbPeople and this is how Thumbuddy was born. Check out our website to meet Thumbuddy and remember that you too were born to be set apart. www.ThumbPeople.com
