I rubbed my sleeping daughter’s back, expecting to be greeted with a groggy grin. She stretched her arms and then began feeling around for her favorite teddy bear. When he was not quickly found, my six year old bolted upright and began a frantic search. I realized there would be no grins of any sort that morning if we did not find her bear.
After digging through tangled sheets and blankets, I found him. Cooper, the once soft white bear who is now matted and, well, not so white. He has a replacement nose and has had several “surgeries” to fix holes worn by love. Megan adores him and never sleeps without him. (Okay, there was the one night she couldn’t sleep with him because she had dunked him in the toilet. Let’s just say she learned the hard way teddy bears do not need to be potty-trained.)
As I handed my daughter the bear she claims she will sleep with even when she is a grown-up, I could not help but think of Jesus. If He could show wear and tear from love, what would He look like because of me? I know that sounds a little silly. The Most Holy One is no simple teddy bear. But at this point in Megan’s life, that bear means everything to her. Cooper brings her comfort, joy, laughter, security. She does not want to be without him, and it shows! Do I love the Lord like that? Would my love show? Would He look well-loved because of me?
Even as I read over those questions again now, I pause. Instead of wondering how His body would look because of me, I begin to remember what Jesus’ body looked like for me. A body beaten and torn, bloodied and bruised, hung upon a cross – a visible, tangible demonstration of His love. Indeed, His body already has shown love. It has shown His love for me.
Oh, Lord, thank You for speaking to my heart through something as simple as a teddy bear worn out by love. Help me to learn from my daughter. May my heart towards You be like her heart towards that bear. May I look to You for my comfort, my security, my joy. May I live a life that declares I do not want to walk through a single day without You. May I always remember the depth of Your great love for me, and may I never forget that I love You because You first loved me. Thank You for loving me so well. Amen.
My son has a well-worn lovie too, and just this morning he woke up in a panic because he couldn’t find it in the bed. He called for me, and once we found it, he went right back to sleep. That situation happens frequently at our house, and I love how you’ve drawn a parallel to Jesus, His love, and our love for Him. I will think of that next time! Thank you 🙂
This is beautiful! Well done, Kimberley! 🙂
My daughter has a soft doll named BettyLou that was given to her at about 5 months. BettyLou is lookin’ rough from all the years of love, as LittleGirl is now eight. She still sleeps with BettyLou, and carries her around the house (when her friends aren’t here, of course). Your imagery of love are spot-on. I will never look at BettyLou again and not think of this post, which in turn, means I will never look at her again and not think about Jesus and my love for Him and His love for me. Thank You! This was just the best thing ever to read this morning! Happy Sunday! 🙂
You are so right! In many ways, I think we can all learn a lesson about love in general from our children, but your comparison to us needing to love Him as our kids cherish their loveys is wonderful!
I love how you always find Jesus in the everyday moments of your life. As always, I am challenged by your questions and am determined to show my children today that I “love the stuffings” out of Jesus! Thanks again for the post and I hope that your transition to working outside the home is going well!
I love that God uses our children to teach us valuable life lessons. I slept with the teddy bear my father got me when I had eye surgery at the age of 3 until the day I got married. I wanted to bring him with us on the honeymoon but dear husband had to put his foot down!
Beautiful! I love this analogy. I hope my life shows how much I love my Lord.