under protection

You hem me in behind and before, and You lay Your hand upon me.

(Psalm 139:5)

The way we touch God  is often a gesture of testing, checking on Him, putting our fingers into His side, and into His wounds. It is so difficult to believe in good intentions, in the promise, the love which does not dictate any initial conditions. On our part – there’s so much doubt, mistrust, and anxiety.

And yet He lets us do all that, remembering, who we are. And He does let us touch and find Him. But His gestures are so different from ours. He doesn’t check on us, He is not suspicious, He doesn’t keep the distance. “You lay Your hand upon me…” It’s the same gesture with which we calm down our children and express our proximity. Infinite acceptance and the desire to protect them – just because they are there.

Margaret

Photograph: source