My son Joshua and I have this little game we play. I’m sure it didn’t originate with us; moms have probably been playing it with their kids for ages. There aren’t really any rules and it doesn’t have a name but it’s about the best game I’ve ever played. Sometimes I start it, sometimes he does but it always ends with him in my arms.
“Hey Mom,” He yells, “I love you more than celery!
Gee thanks I think. But still, if he loved me less than celery I would be worried!
“Hey Josh!” I yell back, “I love you more than broccoli!” I’ve upped the stakes. Broccoli is my very favorite vegetable and he knows it.
His little mouth struggles to keep from smiling. His shoulders rise up to meet his ears as he fights to hide his embarrassed pleasure.
“Hey Mom.” He’s quieter now “I love you more than Lego’s.”
Wow! That’s a big one! He really means it when he brings in Lego’s! I want to grab him and squeeze him.
“Oh yeah? Well I love you more than coffee!”
Blue green eyes widen in shock! He looks like he may need to sit down for a moment, then he flashes his dimple at me in a mischievous grin.
“Do you love me more than………chocolate?”
I don’t hesitate. “Yup!”
I stretch out my arms and he launches his wiry little body at me. Then I squeeze him tight and smooch that dimple ‘til he squeals.
To One it was no game…
“Lord, do you love me?”
I love you more than heaven…
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14
I love you more than my comfort….
“He was oppressed and afflicted yet He opened not His mouth…” Isaiah 53:7
I love you more than my right to be honored…
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.” Matthew 27:27-31
Then He stretched out His arms and died for me, taking my sin, my shame and the punishment that should have been mine.
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6
Then He conquered death so that I might live…
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
He cleared the way for me to run boldly to Him. I launched myself into His arms; He caught me and holds me tight.
His arms are open for you too…
Friday, June 10, 2005
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17 comments:
Great game - and what a great reward for the winners!!
haha that game sounds awesome! That was a really uplifting post!
Thanks guys!
This reminded me of our game, here. We play "You're my favorite..." and fill in the blank with something that can only apply to that person. It's usually follwed with a "I'm your only..."
Glory
Yeah, I have three girls but there is something about my little man. Your game sounds fun too Glory.
Fran, that was absolutely beautiful. Will I sound terribly motherish if I tell you that I really am very, very proud of you for this latent writing gift? (I mean, maybe YOU knew you had it, but we never had a chance to see it before!)
You can sound motherish all you want because you are actually the one who encouraged me to try writing. Honestly, I didn't have a clue! Thank you.
An absolutely inspirational post, Fran. I came from Shannon's site and am so glad I did! Thanks for starting my day off on such a positive note.
Jimmy
Fran, you've got a couple of comments on my post from people who don't have blogger and can't leave them on yours. So be sure to come check out the nice things being said about your writing. :)
Simply lovely, both the game and your writing of it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you everyone. You are very gracious!
My 2 year old daughter says, "I love you" and I say, "How much"? She says, "Whole World", then I say, "Guess What"? and she says, "What"? I say, "I love you whole universe". Then I say, "How much does God love you"? She says, "More than that". This is something we do all the time. I want her to always know that God loves her even more than we can think or imagine--even more than me. Her rendition of "Jesus loves Me" sometimes takes on some made up words. Today in the car, I heard her say, "He loves me SO much"! That is a mother's blessing!
I love playing that game with my kids. Pan knows it best as she is the oldest and has been playing since she could talk.This was a wonderful post! God does love us ever so much:)
My son Joshua tells me, "Mom, I love you tough noodles!" Because when he was younger I burnt the spaghetti and the noodles were tough. And I was crying and he said "IT's ok, Mommy, I love your tough noodles."
That was such a deeply sweet post! I can't wait to play that game with Blake.
Fran!!!
I didn't know you were blogging, you write beautifully! I love it. I look forward to more!
BTW Good picture of the snickerdoodles!
I love this post! Thanks the idea and adding a bit more love to our day!
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