Originally published Wednesday, 26 November 2014.
"Did you write our mommy notes yet?" I hear my girls ask most mornings before school.
"Yep! It's in your lunch box," I say, as we head out the door to start our day.
These little, seemingly insignificant "mommy notes"––as my girls dubbed them––mean the world to my two daughters. They don't just read them. They cherish them. They keep them. In fact, there are times that I see them pull out an enormous stack of mommy notes so they can read them all over again. Ella even knows which one is the very first mommy note I gave her on her first day of first grade, over two years ago (we homeschooled for kindergarten). And let me tell you, on the rare occasion that I don't have time to write that sacred little note, you better believe that I hear about it. It almost seems they're not quite filled with my love without that little note.
These notes are nothing elaborate, just simple jottings telling my girls I love them along with a small word of encouragement, but they do matter. And I'm pretty sure my daughters are not the only ones who love to be reminded that they're noticed––truly seen––and loved. The desire to be seen, loved, and accepted is at the heart of who we are. It's what every person on this planet desires more than anything else.
We all need little love notes tucked into our everyday to encourage us, to fill us, and remind us that we are loved. And what's so incredible is that God has given us just that.
The whole of the Bible is one great big love note to humanity. Every part of Scripture are "God notes" to His people. The love of God, woven throughout the text of Scripture, whispers words of encouragement and acceptance. From Genesis to Revelation we see God's relentless pursuit of man, and it's nothing less than incredible.
The Jesus Storybook Bible says we are loved with a "Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love." I love that––because it's true. This is the kind of love and acceptance God offers each and every one of us. Scripture tells us that He saw us in our rebellion. He saw our every need. And despite our unruly hearts that continually turn away from Him, He chose to come, motivated by that love. He came that we might be saved. He came to restore all things to Himself, knowing that apart from Him we would not only perish for eternity but never experience true life in the here and now. And so He came. He lived. He died. And He rose again on our behalf.
Now that, my friend, is love. A love unparalleled by any other.
And this is why we are thankful. This is what Thanksgiving is all about. Little God notes, whispering a love that fills and makes us whole. Everything we have is a gift from above. Everything we're given whispers of His love.
Happy Thanksgiving, my friend!
I pray you are filled with the knowledge of the fullness of God's love.
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