Oh how He....

Saw this beautiful image on pinterest yesterday morning.  That little girl looks so happy and full of life.  So perfect in the eyes of that daddy kissing and loving on her.  When I first saw it I thought oh how cute! Didn't really think too much of the words written so carefully below the picture itself.  I feel like we all do that more times than not.  See such beautiful thoughts that are clearly from God and we just tend to overlook them.  Until Jesus decides we need to remember them and think of them in a much bigger way.....

Later on in the afternoon, me and my adorable newly 1 year old baby girl were in the kitchen playing and goofing around.  For those of you who don't know Maci, she has such an infectious laugh and smile.  She lights up the room with her big beautiful grin and I promise I'm not just being biased.  ;)

So here we are sitting on the kitchen floor, why I have no clue...I was in the process of making some homemade bread and the kitchen is Maci's most favorite place to be (especially if mom is in there trying to get something done).  I bet for about 10 minutes or more we spent playing with this silly pink doll blanket.  I would put it on my head, she would take it off and I would yell "BOO!", she would giggle, give it back to me and the process would start all over again.  After a few minutes Maci got the hang of it and decided she wanted to be the 'hider'. 

And when she would take the blanket off her face she would give you that sweet sweet smile and then giggle away.  These are the moments I will remember when she is grown up and off on her own, but during this particular  moment the Lord decided He needed to tell me something and show me something I needed to see to fully grasp His love...

I've always known that God loves me and He created me in His image but for one that grew up in the church that tends to just get lost in the every day life we have here on earth.  We know He loves us but sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Therefore as I was sitting there looking at this beautiful perfect child in my eyes, and just feeling my heart swell up as I watched her sweet face full of joy, my thoughts went back to that first image.  The image I saw on Pinterest.  I sat there staring at Maci and thought, "My God, my loving and awesome God, you love me more than this? You love me even more than I love my own daughter don't You?  You see me as this giggly beautiful child don't You? You will never leave me.  You will never stop loving me like I will never stop loving her will You?"  Now friends, it may seem like such a "Sunday School" answer.  It may seem like something that is such a practical thought that you are taught right away as a Christian, but friends, do you fully feel every ounce that is in that promise?  If you have children think of how much you love your kids and think of how much happiness they bring you....think of how even when they mess up or are 'naughty', how much you still love them.  It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that kind of love.  That kind of powerful love.  He watches us everyday just as I watch Maci play and giggle.  When He watches us giggling and laughing we bring a smile to His face.  He hurts when we hurt and oh how He rejoices when we rejoice. 

Oh how He loves us...oh how He loves us.....Oh how He LOVES us.......

It's a beautiful thing....we may not always feel like we deserve it....but that doesn't stop Him.  His love is far more powerful than we could ever imagine.  Can you feel it? I sure hope you can because it is there far more than we realize it......