The lightning is filling the sky. The thunder is shaking the house. In between songs, I hear one of the boys upstairs crying. They are pretty exhausted from a busy weekend so I fly up both sets of stairs to their rooms. I find Jonah thrashing in his bed – arms and legs flailing. Screams and cries. Sleepwalking. And he can’t be woken. He starts coughing and choking – losing his breath. The room illuminates with flashes of light and rolls of thunder. One horrendous cough and his system is jolted and he realizes his daddy is sitting next to him. He falls into my arms and my words of affection and affirmation. “It’s okay” I say over and over as I rub his back and snuggle him. He’s a sweaty mess and smells like the outdoors, but I hold him tighter and love him more. Unconditional love.
Can you relate to Jonah? Does it feel like the world is flashing by, filled with static while your thoughts are enveloped in a mess of chaos?
In the Message’s translations of John 6 (35-38) it reads: Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go.
Isn’t that what we all desire at the end of the day? To let go of everything and to be embraced by the one who loves us unconditionally – even in our sweaty and smelly messiness?
