I just wanna hold your hand.

This past weekend, I went to be with my dad’s side of the
family (with a few friends of the family as well) in Splendora, TX. Almost
everyone was there and we had a BLAST! We went golfing on Saturday (the young
guns won by the way…) and hung out that night. Sunday morning, I woke up to a
busy front yard. Some were preparing the crawfish for the boil, some were
lounging in their chairs, the kids were being kids and I well, I had to go for
a run!

When I got back, I ate some crawfish and socialized,
cherishing every minute of it because I was thinking that it might be the last
of my family that I see for the next year! I hope that’s not the case but you
never know…. Once I was done eating, I went inside to wash my hands and when I
returned, I saw one of the little girls (I had never seen her before) crawl
into her parent’s van and curl up with the door half shut. I could tell that
she was extremely upset. As I got closer, I noticed that she was crying. I
opened the door and said, “Baby, what’s wrong?” She said nothing as she wiped
the tears from her face. I told her to come with me so she slowly stepped down
and followed me to one of the lawn chairs. Once we got there and I started
talking to her, Gianni sat on my lap and put her head on my shoulder. As she continued
to cry, she finally told me, “I want to swim and they [other kids] said I
couldn’t [yet].” I explained to her that no one could swim yet because we were
still eating and wanted to all swim together… that we wanted to all be there
and be able to watch everyone and make sure that they were safe. She quickly
dried up and said, “Okay”, with a glitter of hope in her eyes. She sat in my
lap a little while longer and showed me the colors on her swim suit (she is
about 5 years old), told me about her dog and was just the friendliest little 5
year old to this stranger. Once the crawfish was finished, the swim began!

Throughout the rest of the evening, we simply enjoyed each
other’s company by chatting, playing Polish horseshoes (You should learn what
that is and play!), swimming or over food. It was a normal outing for our
family with lots of hilarious events, stories and just good times!

Later, after the Polish horseshoe tournament, I was headed
inside for something and Gianni, the little girl, came up to me, grabbed my
hand and started walking with me. I very gently said to her, “Hey girl, where
you headed?” She said, “With you. I just wanna hold your hand.”  Of course, I melted inside. We walked and
chatted for a brief moment and then I went in the house.

After all of this connected, I began to see a rescue. In the
same way, our Father rescues us from ourselves, allows us to sit in His lap,
listens to our sob stories, and pours out His love on us. Just the way that Gianni
felt alone and wanted to escape to the van and I came to where she was, we are
liberated by Jesus who is pursuing US! Once we realize how much we are in need
of a savior, of a satisfying fill, we just want to sit in His lap, hold His
hand and walk next to Him in thankfulness, giving nothing less than all of
us. 

I felt like a father that day, one with a huge love for a
little girl that I didn’t even know. How much greater is the love of Christ
that not only knows each beat of our heart but seeks out our every need,
desiring to satisfy them with His love!?

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy
Spirit to those who ask him!?” –Luke 11:13

Let not our lives be a response to our love for Him but a
response to His love for us!