Encourager - Messenger of Heaven's kisses

I was raised by a very loving mother. Though she was a single-working mother, she always made sure that we had everything we needed growing up, we felt that we lacked nothing.

In the Chinese culture, physical touch is not a big thing to express love within family. I got many kisses from mom when I was young, hugs are not an everyday thing, "I love you"'s are not said often, not even occasionally, you just know that you are loved... you just have to know and believe it without it being said.

I knew that my mother was very proud of me by what her friends told me. Whenever I did well in school, she'd give me smile and said, "Now, you can do better next time!" Even if I'd made a hundred! I could do "better"?!

Now that I am a mother, I try to make sure that my children know that I love them, they don't have to assume or guess. They know it by the "I love you"'s, our kisses and hugs, our words of encouragement that they receive daily. Our Father is a loving father, He sends us those loving kisses and hugs too. We have to learn to recognize them, ask for them, receive them as such.

REMEMBER... there's no coincidence...

Earlier this Spring, there was a time I was feeling like a bad mother. Frequent calls for discipline with our children was wearing me out and I regretted the times that I was impatient and ungracious. I didn't like how I had handled those situations.

And then... one day, I was in a restaurant having yummy lunch and great conversations with a good friend of mine and my sister-in-law. during the over-2-hour-period that we were there, my children were getting restless. I had to take them outside and talked to them a few times and asked them not to whine. Then, as an elderly couple were making their way out of the restaurant passing by our table, the lady stopped and proceded to speak to Matthew (I had Matthew in my lap at this time -and I thought to myself, "she must want to comment on how cute my Matthew is... which is not uncommon"). The lady looked Matthew straight into the eyes and said, "I have been watching you. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You are becoming such a good little boy. I am so proud of you, and your mother is doing a great job raising you.” I looked at her the whole time as she was speaking those words, and I was soaking in every word out of her mouth and knew immediately that she was a messager sent by my Father to bring me encouargement and showed me love. That was one of the kisses that my Father gave me that day.

I am so blessed by every little thing God does to show me His love. It's overwhelming at times! Father has taught me to be His messenger of His kisses for others as well, especially for my husband and my children. Paul and I are teaching our children to look for and recognize these hugs and kisses from our Lord.

Have you gotten any kisses from Father lately? Have you asked Him to show you where they are? Has He asked you to be His messenger to deliver His love today? God's love is life-changing!!! I pray that as you are reading this, Father is bringing to mind those loving hugs and kisses He sent you and those heartfelt embraces He encircles Himself around you that you know beyond a shadow of the doubt that YOU ARE LOVED!