Today is Thursday, September 23rd, 2010; Karen's Korner #1914

Taken from "Daily Guideposts 1985; Monday, March 11":
 
"The eternal God is my refuge, and underneath are His everlasting arms..
- Deuteronomy 33:27
 
"At any moment my ten-year-old son would breeze through the door, drop his schoolbooks on the table, and ask for a snack. I would say, 'Got any homework?' And he would say, 'Math, but I don't understand it.' Then I would try to help, and a real battle would ensue. It had happened that way all week long. I dreaded going through it again.
 
"The door banged. Bob was home. Instead of calling for a snack, he came out with the most curious and unexpected bit of information I ever heard brought home from school.
 
"'Mama, there's a study I read in school today that says a person needs at least six hugs a day for emotional well-being,' He stared at me, chewing on his bottom lip.
 
"'Oh, yeah?' I laughed, 'Well, come here then. We wouldn't want you to be emotionally unhealthy.'
 
"I swept my arms around him and felt his arms wrap around me. And there we stood in the middle of the kitchen at 2:30 in the afternoon and hugged. And hugged. And hugged.
 
"A most mysterious thing happened. My eyes filled with tears and a great new surge of love poured through me. I held him tight, so tight I could almost feel the warmth of his little life melt into my own. This precious child, I thought. How I love you!
 
"As we loosened our arms, we looked at each other, knowing that something very special had happened. And indeed it had. For as we sat down at the kitchen table to tackle the math, there was no battle. I was more patient. He was more attentive. That was the beginning of lots more hugs----and fewer bumps---in our relationship.
 
"Oh, go on. Hug someone.
 
"Lord, let me reach out and warm someone with the love that lingers."
 
~ Sue Monk Kidd
 
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