There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for my kids.
I bet you feel the same way.
I came close to death bringing them into this world, by way of epidural, you understand. But still.
I gave up my body to nourish them, more hours of sleep than I can tally with a calculator, more money than I can count (and still counting) and half my granola bar yesterday morning.
So, I’m committed.
I have sacrificed hours of time sitting in carlines, waiting in bleachers, making doctors appointments, waiting up for them to get home and waiting for the hot water heater to recycle.
I have cried more tears than I can hold and held my breath over every moment I couldn’t control.
I have fretted over their pain and wondered if they understood just how much I loved them, just how much I would for them…
I would die so they could live.
And that’s the way God feels about you.
Some days are hard. We question His love for us. We wonder if He is listening, if He cares. We might feel forgotten or troubled or alone.
But He is your Father. He loves you. And He would do anything for you.
Actually, He did.
He is lovingly saying, Come to me, child. Sit on my knee, tell me about it…
And even though we may wonder how He could allow the rain to fall or the storms to blow, we are never alone.
You are His child. And He loves you.
He stands over your bed in the middle of the night watching you breathe.
He would bring your lunch to school if you forgot it.
He would put another call on hold if you beeped in.
He would have pictures of you on His phone.
He would take away your car keys for your own good.
And ground you when you needed it.
He sacrificed something He loves for you.
And sent his only Son to die so that you can live.
He is your Father.
You are worth it. Yes, you.
With all your bad days and bad decisions and bad feelings, some days it’s hard to believe.
But it’s the Truth.
His love is boundless. Endless.
“God gives us children so that we would know how he feels about us.” Bob Goff
That’s the way God feels about you and we can’t forget it.
Written by Kristen Welch, We are THAT family
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Barbie says
This so encouraged my heart tonight. Thank you!
Abby says
Amen Kristen!!! What glorious truth. Makes me think of Psalms 103 and the heights and depths to which He goes to express His love. To rescue & redeem. Oh that we would live out of this love & see it infuse every area of our lives…as if it changing us could change the world. Thank you for the reminder!
Katrina says
WOW ! Kristen you hit the bulleye today. ‘I spent a lot of those teen years wishing I was taller, curvier in some places, thinner in others. I longed for my boring brown hair to be less wavy, for my skin to be clearer, for more beauty.’ I could have written that section myself in my teens & even today. Thank you for your honesty.
Bev Duncan @ Walking Well With God says
Kristen,
Oh what a beautiful reminder this morning! No matter what my children (now grown) have done (or not done), I will ALWAYS love them. If I am capable of this as a human, how much greater must God’s love for me be? Sometimes it’s just simply hard to fathom so I thank you for a reminder that I needed to hear this morning!
Blessings,
Bev
ps. It makes me smile, even chuckle thinking about God looking at my picture on His iphone 🙂
NJ Rongner says
I have been thinking about this so much lately- as much as I love my kids, God loves me even more than that. I often get overwhelmed thinking about it. It often comes to mind as I’m rocking my 7 month old to sleep.
I’m with Bev, it makes me smile thinking about God’s iphone full of our pictures.
Lindsey Bell says
This is exactly what every woman (well, every female!) needs to read.
Cynthia says
Simply said (in the VERY best way!) and oh, so true. Thank you for this lovely reminder. When I think about my children and what I would do/have done/have yet to do for them, then consider how exponentially true this is for our Father…well, it’s the greatest comfort. Thank you Kristen for this poignant analogy. ❤️
Kendra says
Amen! What a perspective! Just what I needed this morning:) Thank you, Kristen
karyn says
O how beautiful. How lovely. How delightful.
O heavenly Father, I’m finding my way home. To my home sweet home with YOU my heavenly Father who art THOU in heaven through YOUR very own Son. My LORD and Saviour, my Redeemer, my BRIDEGROOM and when YOU look upon me Father, you will but see YOUR ONE and only Son’s righteousness as I will appear to YOU ABBA as white as white as snow.
Thank YOU ABBA Father for YOUR everlasting LOVE for me dear Father.
I love YOU LORD JESUS.
🙂
Kristy says
This is so great. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in God as King and as Savior that we forget He’s our Father too.
Mothering From Scratch says
{Melinda} Oh, I love this quote, Kristen. What God has been teaching me lately is not only that He loves me, but that He’s also not chronically disappointed with me. I’m a recovering perfectionist and I have a very hard time not trying to “perform” for God, even though I know that’s not required by Him. But I know how often and how many ways and fall short and I think, “How can He NOT be disappointed with me?” But the Holy Spirit has been changing my mind and heart. God is PLEASED with me. I really believe that now. And it has been a revolutionary thought for me.
Penny says
Very comforting,
Thank-you Kristen…..
Penny
Susan Stilwell says
I love that He would put a call on hold. That’s true love at my world!
Hugs from VA, Kristen 🙂
Leanna Williams says
That is so powerful. When I am stressing over parenting and wondering if my daughters know how much I love them…whether I being a good mother or not…I know God feels the same about me…except he is perfect and I am not.
Rhonda Quaney says
How you describe the cost of having children and the ongoing, daily sacrifices… so beautiful.
To my amazement the love I feel for my grandchildren is even more intense, even though I don’t do all those daily things for them. It truly brings a new depth of understanding of God’s love for me.
Thank you for the affirmation of how God see us.
Hope says
Beautifully written and a nice reminder!!
Julia says
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed to hear today and also reiterates a message God spoke to my heart in the Sunday sermon this week.
Veronica says
I needed to read this. Sending His only Son to die for me is proof enough of how much He loves me despite life’s current circumstances. Your words spoke to my heart. Thanks.
kimmie says
It’s hard to believe that we often forget something so simple.
Adelle Gabrielson says
Can’t even express how much I needed THIS post TODAY. God’s perfect timing, sending me a love-note through your words that He Sees Me and my wounds Matter To Him.
Judy says
I wonder quite often myself ‘How God feels (or thinks) about me?’ Sometimes I ask Him straight about it. And yes, then It comes in my mind/heart egsactly this thought (or answer from Him?): that I am His child.
I desire very deep, the wound be healed that refers to this connection.
It is always conforting and cheering for me to be in relation with a child: then I know / experience in my heart – though with some disbeleef – how He might feels towards me. 🙂
Thank you, Father, for these experiences!
And thans for this sharing! God bless you, Kristen!
Susan Shipe says
I believe that is the “plainest” way of reminding ourselves how much HE LOVES US, by our love for our own children – how much more does He love? O! to be held by Him. Nothing else like it. Thank you for the reminder on this first day of Spring!
Kathy @ In Quiet Places says
How deep the Father’s love for us! I love waking up to this truth every morning and its reality in my life every day!
Marty says
After I became a mother, I saw everything differently. I read the Bible differently, and the lessons and truths I learned affected me differently. And I realllllly began to see God as a FATHER…as MY Father. Thank you so much for sharing this. It was spot-on for me this morning!
Charissa Steyn says
This message is stirring in my heart the past few weeks. And with my now toddler son running around I am now starting to understand anew and afresh how God feels about me. Thank you for this beautiful post today- I think we can all use this reminder EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!
Nancy Ruegg says
What a comforting image of our Heavenly Father you’ve created! God’s sacrificial love–personified in terms and experiences we can all relate to. Well done, Kristen! A heart-touching post.
Marla says
Beautifully stated
Sabra Penley says
How I so desperately need to remember this each day. Kristen, you beautifully described our heavenly Father’s love for us. Thank you.
Frances Mosley says
This is such an accurate description of a love that is poured upon us daily. Whether we feel like it is deserved or not it is given regardless to our actions. It is never held back and it never ceases. I have written a book that also describes this love called A Love UnMatched that shares the same sentiments. Thank you for being obedient to share this wonderful blog. His love is too often over looked as we deal with all of the “other things’ pertaining to God but his love for us is so important and should be shared constantly!
Beth WIlliams says
Kristen,
Hit the nail on the head with this beautifully written post! It reminds me of “The Old Rugged Cross” by Chris Rice. (See below)
Look at the 3rd and 5th stanzas-where he talks about dear lamb of God leaving His Glory above to bear it to dark Calvary. Stained with blood so divine has wondrous attraction to me twas on that cross Jesus suffered and died. Just singing that makes me cry every time!
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
Penny Doremus says
Last week at Bible study our leader asked the question, “How would you pray differently if you could see Jesus sitting across from you, listening to your prayers?”. Without even thinking about it, or knowing what was I was going to say, I said, “I’d climb up in his lap.” I don’t remember ever sitting in my dad’s lap, so it was a surprise that that is what came out of my heart in response to her question. Since then, that picture has become such a joy to me. I get to be a child, His child, even now, all grown up. Oh, I love Him so.
Lois says
Thank you so much for this beautiful reminder that left me in tears this morning. Sometimes we just need to hear it!