Comfort

This past weekend, we had a big family get together on my mom's side of the family. We had all 52 family members in one picture to celebrate Grandpa's and Grandma's 55th wedding anniversary. They have 22 great-grandchildren with another 3 on the way! We like babies in our family.

Anyway, being in that same area, my parents, my sister with her little ones, and I spent the night with my dad's parents. I spent the night in the same room as my sister and her little ones. Her middle child is just weeks away from being two. He LOVES Thomas the Train, talks (mostly gibberish) all the time, loves to run and race, and makes his "cross" face to get a laugh.

In the middle of the night last night, there were fireworks going off at the nearby casino. I don't know if this woke the little guy up, or if he would have woken up anyway. He and I (and a number of other people on my dad's side of the family) don't sleep deeply and wake up numerous times during the night. He started yelling, "Mommy!" My sister held him, and comforted him saying, "I'm here. I'm here. I'm here." I thought how scary it must be for the little guy to be in a strange place around strange people and to wake up to strange noises in the middle of the night. I thought how powerful a comfort my sister's presence must be to him.

It was a beautiful picture of God's comforting presence when we are in dark strange places in our lives. Regardless of the circumstances just His presence is enough to comfort us. He holds us close and says, "I'm here. I'm here. I'm here."

My sweet nephew wouldn't have been comforted nearly as much by anyone else. He needed someone who has taken care of him consistently. He needed someone he knows he can trust.

In the same way, God comforts us when we know we can trust Him. If we don't take the time to know who He is, His comfort is much less effective in the hard times.

If you couldn't infer it from my story, I want to make sure you know that my sister is an excellent, loving, and patient mommy who is well loved by her kids. I love her and them very much!

Get to know your Comforter. Build your trust in Him. It makes the dark times okay.

Love to you all,
Jordon