Kiss of Faith

Sweet lips clamped firmly shut. Arms warding me off. Eyes shredding this mama’s heart.

Her eyes, my daughter’s big beautiful brown eyes, always so full of love and mischief, were now reflecting hurt and confusion. Pleading with me to take away the pain. Not understanding why I had to force her to swallow that yucky stuff I called medicine.

It meant little to explain it would help her feel better: that didn’t “make” it better now. Now she only knew I was instilling more discomfort.

Tears trickling down my face and mumbling the old adage “this hurts me more than it hurts you,” I held her flailing arms tight, squeezing the offending liquid into her mouth—doing my best to avoid those haunting eyes.

Releasing my daughter and wiping my tears, I whispered “I’m sorry.”

And then I experienced a gift beyond measure: leaning forward Rachel planted a breath of a kiss on my tear-stained cheek.

A kiss of a thousand words. A kiss not just of forgiveness, but of her love and trust in me.  A proclamation that although she doesn’t understand, she is willing to lean on my understanding.

Is that how God feels as we are forced to swallow a bitter pill? Does it hurt Him more than us? Do His tears mingle with ours, sharing in the pain?

And how do I respond in the midst of confusion and suffering? Often it is not with love and trust but with whining, complaining, anger, and accusation.

But I say I trust Him. I do love Him.Yet, I also have doubts, questions and pain.

It’s not wrong to express confusion and hurt, but we also need to give action to our affirmation of faith.

It's not wrong to express confusion & hurt, but we also need to give action to our affirmation of faith. Share on X

The question is, In the midst of the hard, am I willing to lean on Jesus’ understanding?

Maybe next time my world turns upside down, though I may be confused and fearful, I’ll demonstrate my trust and love through a simple kiss of faith on Jesus’ tear-stained cheeks.

In the midst of the hard, a simple kiss of faith on Jesus' tear-stained cheeks proclaims our love & trust of Him. Share on X

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding, think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6).

Reflections: Do you apply action to your proclamation of love and trust? What does your kiss of faith look like?

My One Thousand (or more) Gift list (#803–821, view them all here):

• My long-suffering family; Chapter 3 done!; 6 hours of sleep tonight
• Dead lil mice (means they aren’t live lil mice!); Freddie Fish: daughter’s favorite; sunlight streaming thru window
• Successful oral surgery for Rachel; Blessed rain received this morning; Soft prepackaged foods for when it hurts to eat
• Wonderful surgical staff–makes all the difference; Inspiration to finish my third chapter–after some sleep; Sleep
• Healing power of time, rest, & God; Rain in what has been a parched season; These cute lil guys
• Walk through history to the CCC boys; Praise choir=a little off, but we did make a joyful noise!; Proposal templates
• Lord’s compassion