Hug Me With Both Arms

 My daughter, Katelyn, is a hugger. A full-contact-whole-body-committed hugger. There is nothing timid or shy about her expression.

When she was a little girl, there would be times I would be in a hurry when I tucked her in at night. I’d give her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, wanting to rush out the door so I could attack the piles of laundry or the dirty kitchen.

Katelyn would have none of that.

“Hug me with both arms and kiss me on the lips,” she demanded.

There was nothing halfway about my daughter’s affection – then or now.

Recently we had a person over at our house who likes to keep people at arms’ length. While other people might try to pretend they don’t have walls, this person takes great pride in keeping his walls impenetrable, with the drawbridge up against any intruders. He told me, “I am working on being invisible so that people won’t bother me.”

Interestingly, our daughter, Katelyn, is unaffected by his barbs and prickles. The last time we saw him, she asked, “Are you just going to stand there and glare at us with your arms crossed? I’m going to give you a hug.” And she did.

He doesn’t quite know what to do with her. My daughter disarms him with her generous personality and friendliness.

I think for most of us life has a way of sucking the hugs right out of us. While we might be willing to hug a nice person, or someone who is kind to us, very few of us are willing to get close to a bristly person with porcupine quills shooting in all directions. But my daughter does and I love this about her. As an image bearer of God, she loves like He does – freely without strings. Nothing halfway, but with abandon. Penetrating walls until people lower the drawbridge.

My daughter hugs with both arms. Just like God.

Who have you hugged today?