I've become a lovey

Each of our younger grandchildren have their own unique comfort items. For our second grandson, they are tops his mother has worn so they carry her scent. I wish I'd thought of that when our sons were babies! For the two youngest grandsons they are burp cloths. For our granddaughter, it's a soft blanket with a satin edge.

We had a wonderful family celebration this past weekend when our two youngest grandchildren were baptized. Most of our family was able to come for the party, which included an Italian feast our daughter-in-law put together. It was an amazing, exhausting day. After lunch, as we sat talking, our granddaughter sat quietly in my lap. She's beginning to outgrow nap time, but she was still tired. For a long time, she has gone to sleep with her thumb in her mouth and one of her soft blankets with the satin edges snuggled close. As she dozes off she rubs the edge of the blanket with her thumb.

I realized that as she sat on my lap, she had her thumb in her mouth and was rubbing my hand with her thumb, the same way she rubs her blanket at bed time. I was at first surprised, and then overwhelmed that I had become her comfort item. I was honored that she felt that same sense of comfort with me. I've become a lovey! I can think of few things I'd rather be at this stage in my life than a lovey for one of my beautiful grandchildren.

I've been working on yet another sermon, struggling with the text in Mark that depicts Jesus being rejected by the people of his home town. The title of my sermon is "Looking for God in All the Wrong Places." I think we do that, hoping for a God who will come and punish our enemies and make us safe so that we never have to suffer. But that's not the kind of God we have. Instead we have a God who came to earth as a Jewish carpenter and who remains as close as our own heartbeat. I thought of my granddaughter as I was working on the sermon today and realized that God is a lot like her lovey, ready to be snuggled close to us whenever we reach out and to provide comfort in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue