Advent – Love – Day 22

If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard this story before, but you’ve forgotten it.

As it goes, one night, a little girl had gone to bed, but she couldn’t sleep because of a terrible storm. The lightning illuminated the trees outside her window, and she could see the branches swaying in the strong wind. The thunder boomed, shaking the house, rattling even the pencils in a glass jar that sat on her dresser. Rain pounded the tin roof as if God had spilled millions of tiny BBs while trying to load His Red Ryder.

A crackling thunderclap sent her peeling back the covers and scampering for her parents’ bedroom. “Mama, Daddy! I’m scared!”

“It’s just a storm,” her dad said, “although that one was close. Come on, I’ll tuck you back in bed.”

He walked her down the hall and covered her up to the chin with her blanket, snugging it along the length of her small body. Before he left, he gave her a sip of water from the glass on her nightstand, said a prayer with her, and reminded her that God was with her.

She listened to his retreating steps back down the hallway, and she decided to put her head under the covers. Maybe if she could drown out the sound, she wouldn’t be so afraid. Maybe if she prayed more, the fears would vanish. Maybe it will all be over soon.

She would do her best to be brave.

But then, a terrible boom came from outside, bigger than the lightning, and her doggie nightlight went dark. Oh no. No power. This must be bad.

“Maaa–maaa! Daaaa–dyyy!” she called from her nest of a bed. She wasn’t about to leave it without the safety of the light to shine into the corners where monsters might be hiding.

“We’re here,” her dad said, and he looked outside her window down the street, squinting his eyes to see through the sheets of driving rain. “A transformer must have blown.” 

Her mom sat down beside her and placed a warm hand on her forehead, as her mom sometimes did when she checked her in the middle of the night and the girl pretended to be sleeping.

But right now, the girl was wide awake, sitting up in bed.

“Please stay with me,” the girl said. “I’ve prayed and prayed, and I know God hears me, but I need God with skin on.”

Sometimes our parents are God with skin on—dashing to our rooms in the middle of the night to make sure we’re safe, staying with us until the fear is gone.

Sometimes it is an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, or a friend—following through on a visit they’d promised.

Sometimes a doctor or a nurse—patting our hands before surgery, soothing our anxiety with their quiet confidence.

Sometimes it’s a volunteer—showing up every Thursday at the shelter to serve lunch to the homeless.

Sometimes it’s a teacher at school—giving a word of encouragement at just the right time or bringing clean clothes, shoes, or personal care items for a student.

Sometimes it’s a pastor—coming to the hospital and praying with the family after the doctor said there’s nothing else that can be done.

Sometimes it’s a mission team—digging a well for the residents of a village who currently have to walk two miles to the nearest source of water.

Sometimes a truck driver—noticing potential human trafficking at his latest truck stop, so he calls 9-1-1 and doesn’t leave until the police arrive.

Sometimes it’s a husband or wife—putting aside their to-dos to spend quality time with their spouse.

And why do they do these things? At the bottom of it all, surely love has something to do with it.

And just maybe, it’s God too.

After all, God is love.

It’s like looking deep into a well within ourselves, and if we stay still long enough, we will find something of God’s own reflection there—working through us to care for all His children. When stones of trial send ripples across the surface of our souls, others will come to our rescue, blown like colorful paper boats on troubled water. 

A smile here, a meal there, a chance meeting that turns into the next and the best part of our lives. These things always seem to come through at just the right time, pushed along by something entirely outside of ourselves, and we chalk it up to mere chance.

Others will help us, for we are all led by the great Other, whether we want to admit it or not.

The One who came to Earth.

The One who loved us so.

The God with skin on.

It’s a story you’ve probably heard before, but you’ve forgotten it.

Or else, you’ve never really believed it.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 NIV

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Reflection and Prayer: How can you be “God with skin on” for someone else? The Christmas season can be a lonely time for so many people. Pray that you would love as God loves, and open your heart to following through on His little “pushes.”