Kiss It, Mommy

All through the holidays, children and grandchildren were in and out of our home.
When others have to knock on the door or ring the bell, our family can walk right in.
My husband and I love the bustle and busyness.
We love to have our family around us.

Only family can walk right in the back kitchen door.
I laugh when my grandchildren like to ring the doorbell.
They don’t have to, of course, but they think they are surprising us.
Of course, we have mastered the art of surprise, which makes them so happy.

They don’t realize that with our RING doorbell, we know that they are coming to the door.
The motion, as they pass by one door on the way to the other, gives it away.
They like to feel the importance of ringing the bell and having us answer.
Little do they know that the importance lies in the total access they have to us and our home.

I watched all the cousins play together.
It was a special time of imagination and wonder.
Hearing their little voices, as they talk to each other, warms my heart.
They love each other as cousins and they like each other as friends.

My two-year-old grandson likes to go from the kitchen into the laundry room.
He likes to close the door behind him and open it from the other side.
No matter how many times he does it, it is new to him.
There is such pride in his countenance as he realizes he can leave us, only to return again.

One such time, he caught his finger a bit on the door frame.
He came into the kitchen with his finger in the air.
Kiss it, Mommy. Kiss it! He said to his mommy who was talking to me in the kitchen.
My daughter bent down and kissed his finger.

He saw me and repeated the same thing, holding his hurt finger in the air.
I kissed his finger as well.
He ran off to play.
Soon, he was disappearing into the laundry room only to return again.

If only it could be that easy, I said to my daughter.
Oh, for the days of goldfish, apple juice, and band aids that could solve everything.
I said that with a bit of nostalgia, remembering those days so well.
Kiss it, Mommy, could change the world.

There is such joy in family life.
With each passing year, Kiss it, Mommy, cannot solve their problems.
However, we can equip our children and grandchildren to run to the One who loves them.
We can pour out our heart to our Heavenly Father and trust that He hears us.

God not only hears us, He will act.
His answers may not always look like we want them to look, but God is faithful.
In times of trouble, we have to go back to what we know and believe.
God is loving. God is just. God is merciful.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

We have a Savior who experienced everything we experience, yet was without sin.
We have a Savior whose wounds on the cross could not be made better.
He incurred those wounds for us.
His wounds were for our salvation.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Kiss it, Mommy.
If only we could, with finality and peace.
But we have One who can…who did.
We have the Lord Jesus, on whom we believe, in order to be saved.

Praise Him!