repetition

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:38-39)

It was a small hand that held the slice of bread while wielding a butter spreader in the other. My granddaughter was visiting, and she was resolutely determined to butter the toast herself. It was slow going, and we had to try another couple of pieces. She finally acquiesced to a little help because she eventually wanted to sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar and eat it!

Her steadfastness to the project interested me; I thought of how we learn by repetition. Do something over and over and you get better at it. Kids can drive you crazy singing the same little song over and over and over, but that is how we learn, all of us, by repetition.

If we had an earthly father who didn't  demonstrate love for us, we still have a heavenly father who repeatedly shows us how much He loves us. We can learn that we are loved, by the repetition of our Father's kindness towards us, His mercy towards us

The repetition of God's love towards us, time after time, day after day, is a way we can learn to feel greatly treasured and loved. If we focus not on our circumstances, and for sure not on our past, retraining our thoughts is do-able. Being aware of everyday gifts from God help re-program our thinking from negative to positive. Thankfulness, an attitude of gratitude, goes a long way here.

Nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Nothing. Not abandonment by a parent, verbal, emotional or physical abuse, rejection by a loved one, negative input or verbal curses. Not troubles, not joblessness, bullying threats, backstabbing. Not hunger, homelessness, hatred, or hard times.

-sally i. kennedy