Easter Sunday, after church, we gathered with family and friends to celebrate and eat a meal together.  My daughter was carrying in a family favorite dessert, chocolate chip bundt cake, which was sitting on a new green pedestal cake server.  As she went to set it down on the granite counter, she kind of misjudged the height and knocked the base against the front of the countertop, then corrected it.  Suddenly she turned to me and with tears in her eyes said, “It broke!” I looked to see what had happened and there was a long fracture line that cut the dish in half…and there was blood.  The fractured bottom had sliced into her hand and caused a decent size cut.

It was a little frantic then, getting Hannah into the bathroom to wash the wound and elevate it, making sure we could save the dessert and then driving to the store to get some butterfly band aids.

I felt panicky trying to find the bandages quickly and get back to my daughter.  I could feel my heart begin to become anxious.  If worse came to worse, the reality was that she would need stitches.  Really not the end of the world.  But it’s hard to get your mind to think clearly when your heart is aching.

There is something about seeing our kids in pain, whether it’s physical or emotional, that just kind of tears at our hearts and can sometimes cloud our judgement.

When I got back to the house she was doing fine.  My husband had determined that no stitches were necessary. Although it should be noted that there has yet to be a time when he has ever felt that stitches were necessary.

Later that afternoon, I was outside laying on a blanket in our backyard, soaking up the beautiful sunshine.  I was just watching the clouds roll by overhead, reflecting on the day, when I had a quiet thought that I have learned to recognize as from the Holy Spirit.

The love that we have for our kids is so deep.  My life and my prayers are directed toward my three children.  My heart is that they would know the depth of the love that God has for them.  I love them so much, and yet God’s love for them is even deeper.

And as I lay there staring up at the sky, I was reminded of the great love that God has for me.  That He has for every single one of us.  Not just for those that love Him back, but for all humanity.  It’s overwhelming really.  And these simple words came to mind, “You can trust me.”

Often times, when my kids are experiencing pain or someone I love is going through something hard, my initial response is to want to make things better. I’m a fixer.  But I realize that in my haste to try to take care of things on my own, often times my actions give away my heart.  I don’t always trust him.

Nobody has ever loved me the way God does.  He willingly sent His son to die for me. Jesus took on the weight of sin and death for me.  The slight ache in my heart for my daughter’s well being is but a shadow of the ache he felt for all humanity as he hung on the cross. His love was so great a sacrifice, that if ever I am tempted to doubt, all I need to do is remember the depth of the love that drove him to the cross. He proved his trustworthiness by giving his life for us.  I can trust him.  You can too.