Precious Moments

“Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy!” my excited eight year old yelled at 6:30 in the morning as I groggily tried to get my bearings. 

Really?  This much energy and excitement at 6:30 in the morning?  I thought I got to sleep in today….

As I pried open my sleep filled eyes, I glanced up to see her beautiful face.  Eyes open wide with excitement, smile stretching from ear to ear with the toothiest grin ever, this was my girl.  My precious girl.  In her hands a plate of peanut butter covered toast, fresh strawberries and raspberries, and a glass of water.  Breakfast in bed. 

Barely containing her excitement, she was so happy to make her Mommy happy.  The joy in her face brought boundless joy to my heart. 

Next came the gifts, handmade and store bought, flowers, poems, and handwritten cards.  Hugs and cuddles, and lots of “I love you” snuggles.  What more could a mom ask for. 

As I looked at her adoring face so eager to please, I wondered if she knew how much I loved her.  How much I delighted in being her mom.  Did she know that none of this mattered?  That nothing she could ever do could make me love her more, or less.  That while the expressions of her love were sweet, she was so much sweeter.  That I loved her because of who she was and whose she was.  She was mine.

Did she know?

Then He spoke.  Clear as day, as loud as thunder and as soft as a summer breeze.  Did I know?

Did I know that He loved me as I loved her, but infinitely more so.  That all my attempts to please Him, while sweet, could not make Him love me more.  There was nothing I could do to make Him love me less, or more.  That He loved me because of who I was, and more importantly whose.  I was His child.  I was His precious child.

Numbers 6:25, “He makes his face to shine on me.”  Have you ever wondered about that verse.  When I stand in the sunshine, feeling the glow upon my face, He whispers “I make my face to shine on you.”  When I stand beside the window and the sunlight streams in, He whispers “I make my face to shine on you.”  When I look down into the love and joy filled eyes of my daughter, He says, “I make my face to shine on you.”

My Father surrounds me with his everlasting and eternal love.  He delights in who he made me to be.  This mother’s day my prayer is that my children will always know my love for them. 

Unconditional.  Unending.  All encompassing.

More importantly, that they will always know His love for them.   A holy, chosen and beloved kind of love.  That they will experience how He makes his face to shine on them.