Ever have one of “those” days? You know, the world presses in, people press in, and the hubbub of the world is just too much? We can take so many lessons from small children. I was watching some the other day in the store. The bright lights were on, the day was nearly gone, people were everywhere, noise and commotion abounded. A mother toted her baby on her hip. A father led his toddler, who clung to his trouser leg. Friends, well-wishers, whoever they were, came up to the couple and smiled, laughed and talked with them. Can you see the picture?

The little one, with finger poked in his mouth, just stares blankly at the stranger’s face. The older one switches from one trouser leg to the other, and occasionally peeks through his dad’s legs. Then the weariness of it all sets in. The energetic world tweaks the baby’s cheek and tries to engage it, and then bends down to try for the other child’s attention. Both reactions are similar, and are so telling. I’ve wanted to do the same so many times. The younger, finger still in mouth, turns and buries his face in the neck of his mother. The outside world has become too overwhelming for him. He can’t deal with it anymore, and he seeks refuge and comfort in the warm secure neck of his mom.

Similarly, the toddler, when overwhelmed, also turns his face and covers it in his father’s pant leg. The cloth envelopes him, keeping him safe from the world, much as his mother’s skirt folds would if he were at her side. I can see it in my mind’s eye, and to be perfectly honest, there have been times in life when, like a child, I would have liked to have folds of a big skirt or slightly baggy trouser legs to just get lost in. To have a safety and security to wrap up in.

I’ve had plenty of “those” days, and guess what? There is someone we can turn to when “those” days inevitably come. He is the King of the universe, God himself. His Kingly robe is just waiting for you to cling to and get lost in the comfort and security of during “those” days! He is our Heavenly Father, and He longs for us to come to Him in our hard places. (See Matthew 23:37) As a matter of fact, He longs for us to come to Him any time- hard place or not!

Go back to the parents with their little ones. The dad did not mind that the little boy clung to his trouser leg, or even switched legs and peeked through them. And the mother did not mind holding the younger child. That is what parents do. That is what your Heavenly Father will do. He loves having you around! And the response to both children’s desire for comfort and security in their parents was the same. Watch again as the baby buries his face in the mother’s neck. The mother’s other hand reaches out and gently covers his little head, her head tilts toward him and she presses her little child into herself, wrapping her comfort and security around him. The father, likewise, reaches his strong arm down and around his child’s head and shoulders and gathers him to himself.

The same is true of your Heavenly Father. When the world gets to be too much for you, when you are overwhelmed on all sides, press in to Him. His strong arms won’t spank you for being weak or a baby (Isaiah 42:3).They will gather you to Himself and allow you comfort and security in the warmth of His neck or the folds of His robe.

We won’t be able to camp there forever, because we have work to do in this world. We have God’s purpose for our lives that we need to fulfill, and the time for doing that is getting short. In the coming year, we need to “get with the program” so to speak. There will, however, be those moments in the year ahead that overwhelm us to the point of pushing us to seek refuge or comfort somewhere. And the best “where” to get what we need most is in the embrace of the God who created us, the One who loves us most.

Let’s go out this year in the strength of our Savior, to accomplish His purposes. And when the going gets rough, remember to press in to Him. He will gather you. Run to Him when you are in the midst of one of “those” days. He is watching for you, and waiting.

Author: Ann / CCF Contributor  All Rights Reserved. Coffee Cup Friends