The other night, I was at a party. My teammates had gone to watch a movie, and I stayed behind at the church…not initially knowing there was a party, but greeted with one a little after making the decision to stay home 
.
To my surprise, I was compelled to join the festivities. About midway through the night, amidst the Dutch Blitz chaos, the ping pong tournament, and Romanian discussions, I saw a little girl sitting down in the corner.
She was coloring. (I love coloring!) I went over to join her. She let me color with her, and neither one of us said a word. (For she spoke no English, and I most definitely do not speak Romanian). So, we just worked very contently together…thoroughly enjoying the presence of the other one.
All of a sudden, she spoke.
I must have looked like a deer in the headlights upon the utterance, but I raised my eyebrows, as if to say, "What was that you said?" (As if repeating it was really going to make a difference.)
She said it again.
I looked down and pointed at the book…thinking maybe she was telling me to color something. The girl just looked at me…and grabbed the red crayon…but still didn't point at what I was supposed to color with it.
I was so lost. I searched for someone that I knew spoke both of our languages, and begged for them to translate. When they came over, the little girl whispered in their ear, and then looked at me with a smile full of anticipation.
The translator looked at me, smiled, and said, "She said 'Love'. She has love for you."
My heart melted, "Awe, I love you too."
She beamed…no translation was needed.
This was a night I thought I was going to have to myself. I initially thought I might read or watch a movie. So, why did I meander upstairs to that party?
I'm so thankful He knows what I need better than I do.
My thought: Quiet night alone.
His thought: Party on, girl.
And through the meeting of that little girl…He reminded me just how much He pursues and loves the heck out of us.
Sometimes He draws us in through what we already like to do. We think we're just there to color or (insert here whatever you find yourself doing in life). And He's there…with us…as we color or do whatever in life we're already doing.
Suddenly, He looks at us and says: "I love you."
And we look back, not really understanding what was just said to us. So we look for something else to do…because there must be something that He's asking us to DO.
He then creatively tries to tell us in another way…the red crayon.
And we still don't get it. We think we're supposed to DO something WITH that.
So someone else is called in. He whispers in the ear of someone who recognizes what's been happening all along, and they look at us, and say: "He has such love for you."
And He waits…He waits for our response…the response we have when we finally grasp what He's been saying all along.
And we finally grasp what we ARE supposed to do with it.
I just wonder what His face looks like the first time we respond back to Him: "I love You, too."
I bet He makes the whole universe beam with Him. 
