​1 John Chapter 2

“But the one who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” I John 2:11 NASB

A Prayer Over Our Children

Jesus, be my daughter’s Advocate and protect her from sin. Turn away Your wrath, oh God, but take away her sin through Your atoning sacrifice. Bless her with a heart of obedience so that she may know You and Your love be made complete in her. Live in her that she may walk with You.  Hide Your Truth in her heart, oh God, that it may not be obscured but shine brightly as a light. ...

I pray that You will help her walk in You and that Your truth will hide in her heart. Fill her with all love for every person and may hate never possess a foothold. Forgive her, oh Lord, and keep her from stumbling. Oh God, bring her to an intimate knowledge of You that she may draw near and be strengthened. Make Your Word reside in her heart so that she may overcome the Evil one. Keep her from a love of this world. Instead, make her a lover of Your Will and a doer of Your ways. Anoint her with Your Holy Spirit, oh God, and teach her Your truth in all things. May what she has heard from the beginning remain in her so that she may remain in You and continue in You with confidence and without shame.

Butterfly Kisses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwlAdEnT-do

“Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayers,” sings Bob Carlisle in "Butterfly Kisses," a song he wrote during the 1990s. As sweet as this song sounded to my young ears, I never understood its true elixir … until several days ago.
     
I remember Sweet Pea’s first kiss. Of course, a Daddy’s girl to the core, she gave her first kiss to her father. He came out of her bedroom with tears in his eyes.

“She just kissed me!” his voice choked with emotion.
     
“She kissed you?! How?!” I quickly choked down a flare of Mother jealousy. After all, I comforted myself, she did say my name first.
     
“Like this.” My husband pressed his lips flatly against my cheek in a perfect oval. 
     
Not until the next day, did I truly understand what he meant. Cradling her close in my arms, I crooned her a lullaby. My lips kissed her little forehead and the top of her baby soft hair. Then, it happened: She leaned forward with eyes large, pressing her tiny nose and sweet cheeks against my own. Her mouth opened in a perfect “O.” In that precious moment when she carefully planted her lips with mouth open wide against my cheek, my heart melted. It was her first expression of reciprocal love to me which transcended verbal expression.
     
Sweet Pea, who was only 5 months old, knew not how to pucker her lips. Nor could she even talk. Face plants with wide open mouth was the extent of her baby kisses. But kisses they most certainly were. They were soft as butterfly wings and delicate as the dawn, filling me each time with wonder and awe. That loving trust could be wrapped up in a tiny 8-pound bundle, never ceased to humble and amaze me. 
     
As Sweet Pea grew, her kisses changed. She graduated from “baby Os” to hand-blown kisses. One hand or both hands pressed to her mouth, she exuberantly threw them outward. Silent at first, with no sound and lips pressed together, these kisses acted out her physical gestures of love. But in time, her hand-blown kisses were accompanied by imitating lip-smacking noises: “Mwah! Mwah!”
     
Sweet Pea’s kisses grew into the wet and sloppy stage, which I know many of you parents know quite well. Figuring out her own muscle coordination with implementation often served to be a wet and sticky experience, but sweet and heartwarming, nonetheless. Kisses sometimes missed the mark and resulted with residual dampness in interesting places. But it was the intent of the giver which mattered most. 
     
Throughout the pre-school years, different kinds of kisses emerged. Sometimes kisses were given casually in the passing like an afterthought, lacking purposeful intention. Other kisses, she attempted pacification in hopes of bailing her out of bad choices made and its impending discipline. Still other kisses, Sweet Pea learned that if she teasingly withheld a goodnight kiss from either Mommy or Daddy, it could lead to more awake time. Chases and a squealing little girl might be the outcome as the said parent worked to procure their nighttime kiss.
     
Loud, echoing lip-smacks came next. Whether blown or delivered in person, Sweet Pea’s kisses were unmistakable and noticeable by all. 
     
“Mwah-Mwah! Mwah-mwah-MWAH!” In series of 2s and 3s, her kisses were rarely in the singular which accentuated their ringing exuberance. Smiles would generate from observers faces as they witnessed such extravagant displays. Perhaps memories of kissing their own child danced in their heads. Perhaps memories of kisses from their own sweet lips onto the cheeks of loved ones floated in their minds. Regardless, Sweet Pea’s kisses were on display for the whole world to see.
     
In time emerged the perfect butterfly kiss. It came most unexpectedly at the least likely time. I had just completed over a week of nursemaid and caretaking duties to both my child and then my husband. Towards the end of that stint, I confess, I felt empty, void of spark or life as I struggled through the fatigue and weariness. But amidst the wilderness, God opened my eyes to a greater gift.
   
Sweet Pea came down with a fever. For days, we looked for ways to pass the time. Quarantined as we were, thank goodness books helped Sweet Pea escape her confinement. Usually, she delights in reading with books and body spread out in her own space. Often, she can be found on her back with book held high above her nose with legs snuggled beneath the covers. Sometimes, she lies on her belly with legs kicking freely while she reads with book propped up against a pillow. Yet, still other times, her chosen method of reading is curling to one side or just sitting to read. But this time was different. This time she chose me.
     
She climbed into the love seat where I sat. Blankets, books, and a water bottle littered the unoccupied cushion at my side. Undeterred, Sweet Pea plopped herself amidst the clutter and scooched tight against me. 
     
“I don’t want to be alone,” she explained, burrowing herself deep in my side. A smile lit her face. “I love being with you,” she sighed happily.
     
Sweet Pea, who loves to snuggle against Daddy’s warmth, prefers his body heat over my Arctic hands and feet. So, when she cuddled all cozy warm beside me, my heart beat deep and wide. The simple love of a little girl touched me so deep, that it made the world stop around me. Down went the keyboard and the laptop screen. Up went the head to rest upon a smaller one and the afghan to cover us both. Abandon ship, I most willingly did.
     
There we snuggled like two peas in a pod, soaking up the mid-day sun. Contentment and love wrapped thick around our hearts. Only the flipping of pages and the happy sighs of my daughter breathed through the stillness. My kisses found their way on the soft hair of my little girl as my arms reached out to hold. So cozy were we, that soon my own gentle snores added to the peaceful harmony.
     
But the icing on the cake did not occur until later that evening. Husband sick and out of commission, it was just Sweet Pea and me. We snuggled in for her bedtime routine. After bedtime prayers, songs were sung and stories told. But Sweet Pea wished to tarry longer.
     
“Please don’t go yet!” she sweetly begged, a smile on her face and in her eyes. Her little arms slipped around my neck as I turned on my side to face her. 
     
“Please don’t go,” she repeated in her sweet little girl voice, “will you stay a little bit longer?” Then she drew close. As soft as butterfly wings, she tenderly brushed the sweetest, most gentle, most loving, and heartfelt kiss against my cheek. The perfect butterfly kiss. 
     
All pretenses and pre-laid plans crumbled. Any thoughts of leaving fled from my mind. I immediately melted. What could a mother do?
     
“How could I resist that kiss?” I smiled at her with tears in my eyes. The chasm which had been empty from days of solitude, worry, and lack of sleep, now filled to overflowing. Like a thunderstorm breeching the dry, desert wasteland, the parched recesses of my soul flooded over with inexpressible emotion. Love.
     
“Yay!” giggled Sweet Pea with pure delight. Her little legs kicked in soft celebration beneath the covers while her smile stretched a mile wide. Nose to nose, we grinned at each other with happy abandon. Then, with a contented sigh, Sweet Pea snuggled in close beside me as I rested my arm against her warmth.
     
The unconditional love of a little child that bubbles over in the full, is a gift beyond measure. The cost was counted, and I was not found wanting. For if extravagant love was the gain from all those days and hours alone with Sweet Pea, then it was worth every hour and minute. Like a miner digging for gold amidst the mud, rocks, and hard ground, unearthed treasure justifies all the laboring sweat, hard work, and sacrifice. Love is a treasure worth far more than rubies or gold. It is immeasurable. It is priceless.
     
Yet, even as I write about the love of my daughter, a thought and question stirs. Could our offerings of love, praise, worship, and adoration to our Heavenly Father above be like gentle butterfly kisses to Him? Sweet in the offering, tender in its receipt, and beautiful in heart. Just like the butterfly kisses of a little girl to her Momma. 
     
But Just as we show the sweet love of parenthood with our children, let us also find ways to express our adoration and love to God. For as many times daily we express our love to our children and our husbands, how much more should the outpouring of our devotion to God for us likewise shine? Afterall, God has loved us from before the beginning of time. He has knit us together in our mother’s womb. He has shown us mercy and grace, time and time again. And He has saved us from certain death, making us alive with Christ and forgiving us of our sins through our faith in the power of God who raised Jesus from the dead (Colossians 2:12-13).
     
​Let us find ways to express our love for the Lord this day. Communicate your love of Him through prayer, voice lifted in song and praise, or joyful gratitude. Perhaps your expression of love to God shines through pictures painted by your hand, a dance of praise, or the raising of your arms. For do not the fields and the trees clap their hands in praise to God.  May our love to God this day be as precious and beautiful as butterfly kisses.

​A Parent’s Prayer

Oh Lord, thank You for Your precious gift of love. Help me to live a life which glorifies and honors You. Oh God, help me also to reflect Your love to my family each day. Be a light within me, I pray. May Your Truth be a beacon of Hope and love from my lips to all those with whom I meet. Help me be a witness of Your extravagant love. Amen.