So many times I have dreamed for someone to hold me, sometimes of being held by someone who loves me.
Sometimes I have went as far as to hurt myself and break my own heart in desperation to feel that special.
Yet all along there has been Someone holding me who loves me so much that He stretched out His arms and died for me.
He loves me so much, He’s there for every hug I need.
He is so full of love that He stretched out His arms and died for my family, my friends, strangers, and everyone in the world.
So many times He’s tried to keep me from breaking my own heart.
So many times He’s urged me to be careful.
But I in my stubbornness have insisted I knew what was best, and in the end broke my heart and His.
Did He leave me? Get tired of fooling with me?
Get angry? Did He stop holding me?
No.

He opened His arms even wider, held me even tighter, and told me He would always love me.
Then He reminded me of how much love He gave to me.
He reminded me of all the people in the world who feel they have no one who loves them.
All they want is a hug.
They want to feel special to someone.
Some just want to matter to someone else.
He taught me how to open my arms to “give” love.
As He had me recollect my memories, I saw I have had a million or more hugs in my life.
And while they may not have all meant the world to me, I remembered (and in some cases first realized) how much they meant to the world.
The love felt within those embraces brought back the tears I’ve shared with many of God’s children in sorrow.
Sometimes they were tears of joy.

God made me realize I was not put on this earth to be loved.
He already loved me from birth.
I was given life that I might share love with others.
I need to share with them the most important love of all, the love of Jesus Christ Our Lord.
There are so many people in the world suffering from hunger, loneliness, abandonment, a feeling of worthlessness, and the desire to be loved.
Who am I to dwell in such self pity from thinking “Oh, what if I never love again?”
If God is in my heart and I try to reach out for Him, I will be loving others every day of my life.
Why do I selfishly whine to myself “What if no one ever loves me?”
If I believe that God sent His Son to die for me and that Jesus chose to do it, surely I know They both acted out of love, and will never stop loving me.
Jesus’ blood and love binds me forever.

True love… it’s what I waste my God’s valuable time daydreaming of, but true love follows the love of God, and yearns to share it with the suffering and lost so that they may know of love.
True love… honors Jesus Himself with a love of obedience, and a love filled with compassion for those whom He died for.

So many times I’ve dreamed for someone to hold me, sometimes of being held by someone I love.
I have often wondered “What if I die never being held again?”
But God has burdened my heart with the sorrow of souls who are dying to be held just once.
I want to comfort those souls with the arms that God gave me.
I want to give them the love that Jesus shares with me.
I want to do everything God knows me to be able to do for the people that my Savior Jesus Christ died for.
I want them to know that Jesus loved them enough to shed His blood for them.
I see that God did not intend for me to be held, but to hold.
As I strive to do His will, I take comfort in knowing He will always be there to hold me in His loving and faithful arms.

7-14-1998 Tuesday
Written by Gail Brookshire
Inspiration: When I went to the nursing home to visit my Aunt Mildred, a lady in her facility saw me hug my aunt and mentioned how lucky she was to get a hug. When I hugged the lady, she started crying as she thanked me. She held onto me so. And I held onto her. I cried all night for her. The Lord opened my eyes to so many people in the world who long for a hug. I have witnessed many children so abused by their parents or by whomever their parents abandoned them to never receiving hugs. Some children are so starved for hugs that it makes them an easy target for molestation and/or prostitution. Even grown adults can be so starved for a simple hug that it can lead to choices one would never think they would make, and some never able to get away from those choices. How much we need to be willing to give that hug. How much people need to know that God loves them! ❤