Unconditional Love

“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.”

Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Realizing my world has been taken over. I sit swaying to and fro in the most imaginably darkest of rooms. I hear the gentle hum of white noise as it creates the invisible force field surrounding the darkness. Lavender, as if telling the quietest of secrets, passes my nose. In my arms, a steady drum begins to slow as the day comes to a close. I finish saying my prayers and I look down to the gazing eyes of my conqueror. It’s in those eyes I see unparalleled trust, I see the purest of love that instantaneously pulls a tear from my eye. The slightest rise from her cheeks gives way to one last grin, as her eyes begin to give up in their fight. Snuggled up against me, for a few hours at least, she sleeps into the night.

I am a father, the warrior for my child. I will love her with a capacity that can’t be measured and there is no wrong that she can do that will shrink that love. If it came to giving my life for her to live then there is no doubt, she will live. I sit here rocking her, watching her breathe and sleep peacefully. It crosses my mind what she must have been feeling as she was falling asleep, she must feel that as she sleeps she is safe and trusts that in the morning her parents will be there for her. She feels protected, she feels loved. I get up prayerfully (don’t wake up, don’t wake up) placing her in her crib and tiptoe out of the room, I make it about 10 feet and I am overcome by emotion and I sit down on the stairs.

I am trapped in an emotional sandwich. One piece of gluten-free bread is the love I have for my daughter and the love she has for me. Then the other piece of gluten-free bread is the love I have for my wife and the love she has for me. Here I am in the middle just sliced brisket surrounded by love. Such a happy place. I start to cry.

As I sit on the stairs, I reflect on the many blessings in my life. God’s love hugs and rocks me the same way I was rocking my baby girl a few minutes ago. I start to realize how similar things are. Every night I go to bed and I look up to my Father but it is through prayer and conversation. I go to sleep peacefully knowing He is there and will be there the second I open my eyes in the morning. As I walk through my days He is there I am protected by His love. He is always looking out for me, and He already died for me through Jesus Christ.

The Bible shows the amazing ways of our God’s love for his children. He loves us unconditionally. There is nothing we can do to extinguish his love for us. I love the parable of the Prodigal Son. The son asks for his share of the family fortunes and leaves the family. He wastes all his wealth as he partied it up in a distant land. Then when times around him got hard and he hit rock bottom he went home. He confesses his sins and what he had done, in the midst of doing so the father tells the servants to prepare a celebration because his son had repented and come home to his family. His father loved him unconditionally. This not unlike our God. No matter what he will always love us.

I am so blessed because of LOVE. Love surrounds me from my wife and daughter to my family and friends to most importantly the love my Father has for me.

I challenge you to share God’s love this week.

We never know when someone around us is in need. Share the love and be present in the life you live and to those who enter it.

God Bless