Always means always
My youngest daughter and I have the same, exact conversation just about every single day.
It took a little while for her to know the right answers, but she has it down now.
The exchange goes like this…
Me: How long am I going to love you?
Her: For always!
Me: But what if you do something really bad?
Her: You’ll STILL love me!
Me: Even if it’s really, REALLY bad?
Her: Yes. You’ll STILL love me.
Me: Will I be sad?
Her: Yes.
Me: How sad?
Her: Very sad. But you’ll STILL love me.
Me: But for how long?
Her: ALWAYS!
We started having this conversation when she was two, and at first when I’d ask her how long I would love her, she’d say things like, “Ummm, I don’t know. Until Thursday?”
So why did I keep asking her until she could consistently get the right answers? Why would I want to have the same, exact conversation every single day?
It’s because I want her to know.
Right now she’s only three years old, and 99% of the time she is nothing but adorable. But I know the time is coming when everything she does won’t be quite so cute. We’ll be disappointed in some of her choices. We’ll probably get angry with her over bad attitudes and disobedience.
But I want her to know that, just like we do with our three older children, her father and I will continue to love her, no matter what, and there is nothing she can do that will ever change that.
More importantly, I want her to know that her heavenly Father won’t ever stop loving her.
Never?
Never!
No matter what?
No. Matter. What.
I want her to know this, because like the rest of us, she is going to mess up. She is going to eventually have to deal with guilt and regrets and disappointment in herself.
But I want her to know that even though she can choose to separate herself from God, she can never, ever, ever, ever, EVER separate herself from His love.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
And that’s what I want her to know.
(Do YOU know?)
Thanks for stopping by!