I was handed a baby today. I took her willingly…I’d held her before…but I always proceed with caution because my friend, Christine, has laid claims on this one. But she was busy pumping the water for baths so I held her this time.
But she’s not the one I want to talk about.
I want to talk about the little girl.
The little girl that was in the yard of the house behind me.
I’d seen her before…and thought she was sweet.
From her yard, she just looked at me…and smiled.
Her dad motioned her over to me, so she walked over my way.
And she stood next to me.
* * *
Now, let me tell you about the kids of this village. In fact, let me tell you about the majority of the kids we’ve encountered on this Race.
They run at you full speed, they jump on you, hang on you, and at this particular village, they demand that you pick them up…they’ll even climb up tall objects so that they can pounce on you from above.
I hate it.
But this girl…
This one was different…
She stood next to me as I had the baby in my arms. She just stood next to me and leaned her head against my leg.
I put my hand on her head.
Then I passed the baby off to one of my teammates. And this little girl looked up at me…with that smile. A smile that said, “You can pick me up if you want to…but you don’t have to…I’m content just right here next to you…” (It was quite the look).
So, what do you think I did?
I bent down and picked her up.
And she just held on, rested her head on my shoulder, and made my heart melt.
The kids at these villages sometimes remind me of the world…they’re cute enough, but they run at you and jump on you and demand every ounce of what you’re willing to give…and the world just takes…it takes what it can get at whatever cost…it doesn’t matter if it causes you pain (we have two on my team with tweaked backs due to the pouncing)…it doesn’t matter how many other things (or kids) you are holding…it wants what it wants…and it does what it takes to get it.
But this girl…this girl was a different reminder. A reminder of how my Father loves me…a reminder of how His love comes to me. He doesn’t come jumping on my back or screaming at me and demanding me to follow Him or obey Him or to take hold of Him. He’s just there next to me…making me aware of His presence…with a look that says, “I’m here when you’re ready to take hold of Me.”
Because all along, He knows that holding Him will change me…yet He still doesn’t force it…He waits for me to reach for Him…He waits for me to let go of what’s occupying my arms so that I can then choose to reach for Him.
And He melts my heart.
* * *
The Lord has been convicting me lately of my unwillingness to meet these demands to be loved. I don’t know what it is in me that rebels against them, but as soon as someone places demands on me…whether to be loved or to be picked up or to be pursued or whatever, I find myself wanting to run the other way.
And sometimes I think we’re supposed to…sometimes I think we’re not supposed to meet the demand or cater to it…but sometimes…I think we’re supposed to give up what we want in that moment. We give up what we’d like to prove or teach them in not catering to that demand…and we love.
We love in a way we wouldn’t choose. We love in a way that is far from what we would ever naturally come up with. We lay down our pride…and we love how He’s asking us to love…and sometimes it’s the very thing they’re demanding.
* * *
So…yesterday I went into that village, knowing that I was going to have to put my latest revelation and most recent conviction to the test, and He gave me something different.
He gave me the love that I needed…
In the midst of a village of chaos…He brought me the one that was gentle. He reminded me that He never demands my love…but waits for and loves it. And when I’m laying hold of His love…and loosen my grips on my pride…the demands for love coming from others seem much less daunting and even fade away.
Because I’ve got Him
And as much as I try to say that I’ve laid hold of Him, it's not entirely true. For just as I took hold of that little girl…who had my heart with her smile long before I reached for her…the reality is, as it was in that situation, He's the One who's completely got a hold on me.
And I wouldn't have it any other way. 
This is the little girl…lovely 🙂
