Spins, Hugs, and Mirrors

I was at the Residence Life desk today with sleep deprivation from finals and hoped that no one asked me to do anything that involved thinking. Fortunately I was a witness to a couple of delightful moments between a little girl and two grown men. The little girl’s name is Katelyn and she is the daughter of the Director for Student Life. Normally Katelyn is 3 yrs old, very shy, has a wonderful laugh and is cautious about who she gives her attention to. In the past I have seen her run from me and others who have wanted to play with her. Two people in particular today were persistent, David and Mac. Today she wasn’t so scared and their persistence paid off. David and Mac would smile, call her name and open wide their arms while they crouched down to her level. She would then run into their arms, hold on tight, and squeal in delight. I saw the delight in both Katelyn’s face and the faces of those who had the privilege of spinning her around.

I thought about how good her dad was at that point. Every time I see them together I see a genuine love between a father and his daughter. He seems to love to surprise her with his presence and she seems to get really excited at the idea of seeing Daddy in places on campus that aren’t in their apartment.  I realized that the only reason she could run up to those two people was because the love David and Mac showed was familiar to her. Their love for her mirrored the love that she experienced from her father, so she welcomed the hugs and spins. 

I was reminded of God’s love for me while watching them. The only reason I can recognize the love that others have for me is because it mirrors God’s. The other day my Christianity teacher asked me about Christmas plans after taking a final. I told him about some of the struggles I have and he gave me some encouragement. He said, “Well, I’m sorry about your struggles. I think you’re terrific. I’m not just saying that in the moment, but I thought that all along.” The encouragement was uplifting. I was reminded that sometimes God gives you love through others and I heard God’s words from his mouth. I was able to recognize God’s love mirrored in my teacher, just like Katelyn was able to recognize her dad’s love mirrored in David and Mac. 

The best part was not hearing from God, but the fact that the love expressed to me was free. Thanks Dr. Blair.