Comfort

 Meet kitty.

She is Kathryn's favorite thing.  Kitty is the definition of comfort to this little girl.  In fact, the other day the boys were talking about how old they would be and what they would do when they grew up.  Kathryn said, "I'm not going to grow up, I'm going to stay little".  When I asked her why she said she wanted to "Stay little and play with Kitty".   She sleeps with her, sneaks her outside, throws her, calls her "Baby".  Kitty is comfort and her favorite.  


And this is "White B":

When William was a little boy, this was his favorite.  He would carry it around everywhere.  Even now, this is a reminder of comfort for my big boy.  He still has it in bed with him... he loves the softness. 

Sometimes we can find comfort in the moments of pure joy, like the laughter Matthew brought us when he was walking around like this..

Or the love my Joshua has for dinosaurs

Last night I took my precious Matthew to the Emergency room.  He had a high fever with no other symptoms other than he was acting like he wasn't feeling well.  As they ran the millions of tests to figure out what was going on, Matthew was really upset.  He kept reaching for me.  All he wanted was to be in my arms.  And as soon as I could, I picked him up and held him close.  There is nothing more precious than the hug of love from one of my babies.  Matthew will wrap his arms around me, lean his head on me, and wiggle.  It's pure contentment, and love that holds nothing back. 

You see, this is the love that our God has for us.  Isaiah 66:13 says, "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."  Imagine that! We can reach out and crawl into the arms of God.  And he will comfort us. In fact, the Lord loves us even more than I love my kids.  (And that is a lot!)  "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:18. 

How hard is it to wait for the Lord?  Sometimes... it seems impossible. But if we think of this, the Lord LONGS to be gracious to us and show us compassion.  It is in Him that we can find our strength to get through whatever we are facing.  It is through Him that we can receive his great comfort and love. It is because of what He has done that we can have pure joy.  It is because of His love that we can love others. 
"who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."  2 Corinthians 1:4

Like my baby, at this moment I am reaching out to God.  Everything in me is struggling.  I'm done.  Like me (but exponentially more), God longs to be gracious to me.  To lift me in His arms as I cling to Him. 

I would give everything to make my boy healthy and strong.  God did give us everything.  He sent His Son to die for us that we might have life. And when we are fearful, or weak, or just tired and worn out... remember that God is always there.  "Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones." Isaiah 49:13

When we put our trust in God, it is more than enough.  There is absolutely no room left for us to fear. In Him is where we find true comfort.