It's Easter weekend and it's one of my favorite times of the year. It reminds me of the sacrifice that Jesus made so that I may live. Soo freaking cool!!! It also is a busy time at church. I love all the hustle and buzz and everyone preparing for the biggest weekend of the year. This is the one time of the year that people who don't normally attend church decide to give it a try. So I've been at the church helping prepare for this weekend. There is a lot to do on the media side and I enjoy every moment of it.
Because of my lovely work schedule I don't normally get to be this involved with the media and that really makes my heart ache. But I was fortunate enough to be apart of rehearsal yesterday. I basically filled in for a camera and practiced getting shots that they will need this weekend. I know my part wasn't big and sometimes I doubt whether or not I'm actually making a difference on the team. I don't feel like I'm able to contribute much, but that is a different story. Any who at the end of the night, I was getting ready to leave and I had a question for someone. When I went up to them, they opened their arm and welcomed me into a hug.
A hug. I know it's not much. Most of the time we don't think about it. In fact, I normally don't think much about hugs. But on my way home I started to break down. That hug was the only one I've had all week. Actually I haven't been hugged since I went home last. I don't have anyone over here that would actually hug me. The embrace sent something through my body. It was a simple reminder that I am here, and I do have a purpose.
I'm not a touch-feely person. In fact if you know me at all, you know I hate physical contact. It may seem strange to most but I really don't like to be touched at all. So now we all know my love language definitely isn't physical touch. With that being in context it doesn't seem as strange that I don't hug often. But my week isn't filled with much fellowship or communion with people. I go to work 5 days a week, I work out at the gym (trust me, you don't wanna touch people there), I attend a financial class once a week and I'm at church twice a week. That is all the contact I have with the outside world.
I can't even say I have friends in any of those locations either. I workout by myself, I work with 3 men, all over the age of 40, I don't know anyone in my financial class, and I only have acquaintances at church. I love my church and I love the people there, but I only interact with a small handful in the media department and most of that is very limited. For the most part, I am alone.
I know it's not the way we are supposed to live, and trust me I wish I didn't live this way, but here I am "doing life alone." So this hug was a very big deal to my heart and I didn't even realize it. I have let my emotions become numb. I have closed off my feelings to those around me. I forgot what it meant to share in fellowship. It was if this simple hug opened my heart and released all sorts of stuff I've been holding in.
God used that hug to tell me that I'm not alone and He has a plan for me. He showed me that He sees me and He loves me. He loves me enough to give me what I didn't even know I needed. This person will never know how much that hug meant to me. They probably don't even remember the act. But as I walked closer and those arms opened to welcome me, God was inviting me into His grasp. He was loving me the way He knows best. He was showing me His love in the way I needed it.
We have no idea. No idea at all about what is going on in the lives of those around us. In this very technology centric world, run by social media, we have become distant. We have forgotten that human interaction is essential to our lives. It is what keeps us going. I'm challenging anyone who is reading this to hug someone today. Now don't go out and hug random strangers, but when you have an interaction with someone today that might not be our best friend, I encourage you to offer up a hug. You'll know when it's the right time.
For the first time in my life I understand why those crazy people offer up free hugs on random street corners. It's because we need it. We all need it, even if we think we don't. We need to know we are loved, and that someone notices us. We need that feeling of belonging. We need to know that we matter. And trust me, YOU do matter! You are here for a reason, and you are important. Don't let your mind be filled with any other lies. Take heart, and know that He sees and He loves you. You are loved more than you could ever imagine. Here is my *hug* to you. My virtual *hug* that lets you know that you are not alone. You are never, ever alone.
but I like hugging random strangers.....
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