Tag: God's Love

She Said What?

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Picture it . . . Shandon . . . 2007.

A dashing, blue-eyed guy is making plans to take his favorite girl out to dinner. He feels confident because he knows he’s chosen her favorite restaurant, but he’s nervous at the same time. You see, dear reader, he’s decided tonight is the night. Tonight is the night he’s going to do it. Tonight, he’s going to go all the way.

Tonight . . . he’s going to tell his girlfriend he loves her.

(Seriously, get your head out of the gutter! Where’d you think I was going with that? This is not that type of blog.)

And so, after a wonderful evening of delicious food and delightful conversation, he prepares to say good night. He wraps his girl in his arms, he leans down, nuzzles into her curls and whispers those three special words:

“I love you.”

There is a pause . . .

The girl’s breath catches . . . she gazes up at him with those sparkling green eyes of hers . . . and she says, with all sincerity,

“Thank you.”

Doh!

Talk about awkward.

Obviously, that was not the response Alex was hoping for that night. And it wasn’t really the one I meant to give him, it’s just he caught me a little off guard, and those were the first words that came out of my mouth. I think we can all agree he should just feel lucky I didn’t laugh in his face, as is my natural tendency in emotional situations.

Thankfully, Alex was able to shake off the utter devastation of my reply and give me a second chance, but I still maintain I wasn’t totally off base in my response.

Because here’s the thing, I was thankful for Alex’s love for me then, and I’m even more thankful for it now.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not the easiest person to live with. I can be stubborn and sassy and even a little bit salty when the mood strikes. To be honest, I like things my way, I have high expectations, and I may “breathe heavily” and steal the covers on occasion. There are plenty of days when I can’t figure out why in the world Alex loves this hot mess express. On those days especially, I don’t feel like I deserve his love, so I am genuinely thankful he continues to tell me he loves me day after day.

I feel the same way about my relationship with God sometimes too. I don’t understand why He loves me so much. I’m flawed in so many ways, and I know I must frustrate Him to no end, and yet, His love never fails.

The problem is while I had no problem telling Alex thanks that night long ago, I don’t do a very good job of stopping to thank God for His love, which is a shame, considering it’s the greatest gift ever given.

God’s love is free of charge to every single one of us. There’s nothing we have to do to earn it, and there’s nothing we can do to erase it. As Paul writes in Romans 8:39, nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When life gets rough, it’s easy to forget that truth. I get all wrapped up in my feelings of guilt or shame. But the good news is this: Stubborn, sassy, or a little bit salty, God loves me no matter what, and friend, He loves you too.

So today, let’s “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1). God’s love is something we don’t deserve; it’s unconditional, given to us through nothing but God’s own grace and mercy.

And because of that, all we need to do, all we really can do, is open our hearts and say, “Thank you.”

It’s Not Fantasy

Published on by katherinebryant26781 Comment

A few weeks ago, my students were working on a current events assignment when we got into a heated discussion about all of the latest coaches getting hired and fired in the NFL.

At some point during the conversation, one of my students said, “Man, Mrs. Bryant, you know a lot about football for a . . . “

He immediately caught himself and kinda looked sideways at me, a little nervous about what would happen next.

I flashed him my best death stare and said, “Cameron Jones, I dare you to finish that sentence.”

Cam just shook his head and started laughing,

“Nah, nah, Mrs. Bryant. That’s all I was going to say. You know a lot about football.”

Smart kid. I’d hate to think what would have happened to him if he had put “for a girl” at the end of that thought.

And he’s right. I do know a good deal about football.

That would be because from August until February, all Alex, Jackson, and Reeves talk about is football, football, football, namely their fantasy team. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they owned a real team by the amount of time they spend debating player stats, free agency, and injuries. But no, no . . . it’s a complete fantasyland they live in.

As we waited for our food at Home Team BBQ two Sundays ago, Adam Thielen, a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, popped up on the big screen, prompting Jackson to comment, “Hey, we had him on our fantasy team, but we had to trade him away.”

When I asked Jack why they traded Thielen, he shrugged and replied, “Well, after three games, he was only averaging two points per game for us, so we had to get rid of him.”

That seemed pretty harsh to my mama heart. After all, it’s not like the poor guy hadn’t gotten them any points at all. And who’s to say he wasn’t going to crush it the next week?

As I sat there feeling sorry for Adam Thielen (and a little taken aback by GM Jackson’s heartless flippancy), I realized that unlike fantasy players, I am really lucky: I’m part of a team I will belong to for life.

As Christians, we can take comfort knowing God will never kick us off His team or trade us away. If we make our best effort to follow Him, we’re always on His roster.

In Psalm 103, David writes: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Thankfully, God doesn’t dismiss us when we underperform. Instead, He offers us love and grace, inviting us back into His huddle time and time again.

This same promise appears in the New Testament as well.

In Romans 8, Paul reiterates David’s message: And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (38-39).

Both of these passages prove an important truth: We mean something to God. He is a God of second chances . . . and third and fourth if need be. He longs for a relationship with each one of us, and He will never just cast us aside. That’s a promise as current and real today as it was over 2,000 years ago.

So, my friends, take heart, knowing that God will keep you on His roster week after week, no matter how your season is going.

Is Bigger Really Better?

Published on by katherinebryant26784 Comments

A few weeks ago, it really hit me how much I am missing my mom during Christmas.

 I was ordering Brooks the Dino World Magna-Tiles, and I realized it was the exact gift I would have told Mom to get for him. Not only would she have ordered the set with gusto, but she would have also thrown in the Jungle Animals and Arctic Animals sets as well. Come December 26, we’d be living in a magnetic wonderland of biomes from around the world.

See, my mom’s love language was 100 percent gift giving.

I’m serious—if she took the actual test, I guarantee you she’d score 100 points in gift giving and zeroes in physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, and quality time.

It’s not that she never showed those other qualities, it’s just that she really loved giving gifts, and that outweighed everything else.

Her gift-giving strength meant that Mom was the perfect person to be in charge of buying Jackson a special present when Reeves was born. She wanted to get Jackson something that would both keep him entertained while I took care of Reeves and make him feel like attention was still on him too.

I had just the gift in mind: the Fisher Price Little People Garage. This toy is a classic, largely because of its simplicity. It’s been around since the ‘70s and provides hours of entertainment without taking up much real estate in your house. In fact, its size makes it perfect to carry from room to room, and it would have even been easy to take to Rock Hill for overnight visits at the Shadowbrook China Museum, otherwise known as Queenie’s house.

Lucky for me, Mom seemed on board with this gift idea, so when she called me at the hospital Saturday afternoon to check in on Reeves and me and then asked me to send Alex home so he could “assemble Jackson’s racetrack,” I was a little nervous.

“Umm, Mom, what do you mean ‘assemble’?”

“I thought you were getting the little Fisher Price garage?”

“Mom?”

Crickets.

“About that . . . I may have gone a different route.”

Uh-oh, I knew what that meant. It meant she had found something she considered bigger and better and more appropriate for her angel grandson.

I thought my prior experience had prepared me for what was to come. Boy, was I wrong.

When I walked into my house Sunday afternoon with my brand new baby, I came face to face with the monstrosity that is the VTech Go!Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate Amazement Park Playset.

How can I describe this “amazing” park?

It . . . Was . . . Huge.

It took up pretty much all of the floor space on my living room carpet, and, y’all, the thing was taller than Jackson.

I was immediately confused. You see, this gift was proudly purchased by the same woman who, years earlier, took the Barbie Dream House my grandmother bought me as a Christmas surprise and donated it to the Salvation Army. I didn’t even have the chance to see it, much less send the elevator to the third floor. As Mom confessed years later, she didn’t want that thing “junking up her den.”

Apparently, the rules change when you become the grandmother yourself.

Honestly, it wasn’t the size that really made my blood boil, it was more the flashing lights, the sirens, the revving engines, and the “70+ sing along songs, sounds, and phrases” that could be activated at certain spots on the track.

If that doesn’t sound like something every sleep-deprived new mom would want smack dab in the middle of her living room, I don’t know what does.

Bigger doesn’t always mean better, Queenie.

Just ask the Jewish people waiting on the Messiah 2,000 years ago.

Everyone expected something big, an arrival with bells and whistles, with pomp and circumstance. Maybe there would be trumpets, fanfare, and a parade fit for a king. Or, maybe there would be drums, banners, and a powerful warrior leading a massive army.

But that’s not how Jesus came. It’s not even close.

Jesus came quietly, born in a lowly stable, a manger and hay for a bed, a lone star signaling his location.

Jesus’ arrival wasn’t flashy or fancy, and yet, it’s the greatest gift we’ve ever been given.

As we prepare to open presents this weekend, let’s take a minute to be silent, to be still, and to be thankful that the best things come in small packages.

God showed his love for us by sending his only son into the world that we might live through him (I John 4:9).

The best gift isn’t underneath the tree. It came over 2,000 years ago so that we may have life and have it to the fullest (John 10:10).

That’s a gift we can carry and share all year long.

Merry Christmas!