Monday Morning Memo: God's Love

As a parent, there are certain calls or texts that I would rather not get from one of my children.  Mom, I’ve wrecked the car.  Mom, I’ve been arrested.  And the one that I received from our daughter Erica recently:  Been at the doctor for almost an hour and a half.  Running a bunch of tests.  Pray they can figure it out. 

It wasn’t a surprise to me that she was at the doctor’s office. We had spoken earlier in the day and she told me that her jaw was hurting and then several hours later had said that her lymph nodes were swelling.  We talked about it and she said that she would probably stop to see a doctor on her way home from work.

What was a surprise was the fact that they had been running so many tests on her and were baffled as to what it was. They finally deduced that she probably had some kind of infection (didn’t know what kind), and sent her home with antibiotics.  They told her that if she wasn’t any better in three days, or if she became worse, she should immediately come back in.

The next day, I received another text that a parent doesn’t want to receive.  My swelling and pain is worse so I came back to the doctor.  They are sending me to the ER. These are difficult words to read under any circumstance, but it makes them harder when Erica lives over 600 miles away. 

Fortunately one of Erica’s friends was able to meet her at the hospital and the rest of the day I anxiously waited for updates from them.  Test after test was done, she was poked and prodded over and over again, IV’s were hooked up and bags were hung.  Finally, we were given the news that they believed she had a serious infection in her neck.  It was the type of infection that they needed to get a handle on quickly, or there could be a very serious outcome.

All I wanted to do was get to her.  I wanted to jump in the car and head to North Carolina to be by her bedside, but my children quickly informed me that that wasn’t going to happen.  With several discs currently out of place in my back, they felt I wasn’t the one to go and wouldn’t be much of a help to her.  So after much discussion, the decision was made that my husband Dan would go.

One of the hardest things I have ever done was to watch Dan pull out of the driveway without me as he headed for North Carolina.  When I shared this with a dear friend, I received a text back that was one I needed to read: Take a deep breath and remember God loves her more than you do.

Amazing.  Unbelievable. Totally mind-boggling.   I just can’t comprehend anyone loving my children more than I do…but God does.  It is a fact that is hard to understand but so comforting, especially at a time when this mama’s heart was breaking.  No matter what happened, I knew that Erica was in God’s hands and because He loves her even more than I do, I could rest in the fact that His plan for her was perfect.   

We were so blessed that our prayers were answered and after four days, Erica was released from the hospital and has been regaining her strength ever since.  God showed me, over and over again during that time, that Dan was the one that was to be there for her and my place was to stay at home.  His plan wasn’t my plan, but it was the right plan.

Do you know that God loves YOU that much too?  He loves you more than anyone here on this earth can love you.  His love never runs out…never changes…never wavers…and you can’t do anything to stop His love for you.  You may be in a place right now in your life where you feel unlovable and I’m here today to tell you that you are wrong.  You ARE deeply loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He so desperately wants to hold you in His arms and let you know how much you mean to Him.  His plan for you, and for your family, is perfect because He loves all of you more than you can even imagine.

God loves you more in a moment, than anyone could in a lifetime.  Believe it today and then trust Him completely to guide you every step of the way.

For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Zephaniah 3:17