One of my kids had a really rough day recently.
He was sitting on the couch, extremely grumpy and upset.
Someone was coming over soon, and so I wanted to clean up the counters and sweep the floors from our messy breakfast.
But I stopped and looked at my kid.
“Go and comfort him.”
The thought came to my mind.
I’ve been trying to do better at following every little thought that I think, so I set down the stuff I was carrying from the counter.
“I should bring him a snack.”
He loves cheese sticks, so I grabbed a cheese stick from the fridge and walked over.
“Can I cuddle with you for a bit?”
He looked at me pretty grumpily and said “No” right away…
But then he paused and said, “Actually yeah”.
I gave him the cheese stick, he ate it, and we just cuddled.
And honestly I didn’t care about the messy floor and cluttered counter when the visitor arrived shortly after.
My kid needed comfort, and I knew that a snack and some cuddles were all I could do at the moment.
John taught about how Jesus would treat those who come to Him:
“For the Lamb… shall feed them,… and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”. (Revelation 7:17)
He will feed them.
And He will wipe away all tears.
I know, I know, the scripture is probably referring to spiritual nourishment.
But I can’t help but think about the loving, tender, caring act of literally feeding someone.
Preparing a meal you know they’ll love.
Grabbing their favorite treat.
Nursing an always-hungry infant.
When we stop to feed (in all definitions of the word) and care for the people around us, we can serve as the Savior served, and as He will serve.
It takes some effort in a busy world where there’s always something on our list.
But I’ve never regretted time I’ve spent feeding and comforting.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
