He'll Never Leave

My youngest son, Samuel, is at a stage where he doesn't like me to be out of his sight all that much (funny how you can take the littlest things for granted...like going to the bathroom by yourself...). A lot of times I will come into the living room after a quick 30 second trip up and down the stairs to find him hanging on to the toy box and crying as if I had left him for good. I quickly pick him up and hold him close, kissing away his tears and murmur in his ear..."Mama loves you...mama would never leave you...mama would never leave..." until he calms down and gives me a big watery, open-mouthed, three-toothed smile.

As I set him back down with his toys my own words echo in my mind - "never leave you..." I think that every time I go through this with Samuel, I'm reminded of God's words to me, His child.

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged (NIV)." Deuteronomy 31:8

Somehow, God loves me even more than I could love my children (though I can't fathom it) because He is perfect and His love is perfect. The depth of love that could never let me abandon my sons is even deeper in Christ. The Bible tells me that He loves me so deeply that He would never leave me or forsake me. I suppose there are times when I cry out to Him in despair - feeling as if He had left me alone. Yet, He has not left me. I might not see Him clearly but He is there. He couldn't leave me alone - I'm His child.