It Hurts So Much!

I have just spent a week with one of my sons and his family which includes two of my young grandchildren. I have not seen them in 5 months and how wonderful it has been to be with them. The two girls are 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 and needless to say are never still. My husband and I are exhausted, but it is certainly a good kind of exhaustion.

We had to say goodbye to them this morning and I have no idea how long it will be before I get to see them again. My heart aches! After the tears dried and we began our drive to our next destination (my husband and I are in the states for a three week visit), I began to think about how much I love my children and grandchildren and how painful it is to be separated from them. Our move to Puerto Rico has made our visiting with one another on any frequent basis impossible because of the cost of transportation. Once or twice a year is probably all we can hope for.

I know I am not the only parent or grandparent in that situation. But I also began to think about how it must feel to our Heavenly Father when He is separated, or should I say, when we separate ourselves from Him. How must His heart ache. What separates me from my children is only miles and time and sooner or later we'll be together again if the Lord wills, but what can separate our Father from His children can be forever, eternal. How He must hurt from the sorrow He feels when one of His children turns away from Him and ceases to have fellowship with Him.

As a parent, I know of nothing as important to me than spending time with my children and their families. It is no surprise to read in God's word that that is also what our Heavenly Father longs for as well...to have us spend eternity with Him--in His very presence.

I know of parents who have very poor relationships with their children or who have ceased to have any relationship with them and it can wreck their lives. Have you ever thought about what it does to our Father when we sin and separate ourselves from Him. Does He feel what we as earthly parents feel? Or is it even a deeper pain for Him since He knows where we are headed.

Being a parent of adult children who have the choice to make their own decisions has helped me, in a limited way, understand some of the emotions our Heavenly Father must feel for the millions of children He so deeply loves on this earth. I know his heart frequently aches as mine did today.

Dana Burk