Messy...

I don't know if you have these moments, but there are times when something happens to me and I know that I have to write about it...that happened to me a few weeks ago...and I am now just getting around to putting it into words. 

I continue to marvel at the community of faith that I have been gifted to be a part of in this place.  God surprises me when another couple or individual joins us as we journey together.  Sometimes I have to stop to realize what God is doing...yeah, I may be slightly too busy....maybe.  Anyway, there is a couple who has joined us in the past year or so...and they are just great.  They have a three year old little girl who is a cutie...she has this curly brownish/red hair, fair skin, and big, bright, blue eyes.  When she laughs, she lights up a room...and when she sees me, it's like no one else in the room exists...her mouth drops open and her eyes become round with excitement.  Talk about making you feel loved...

One day at church, she saw me, and she had the same reaction as usual...the gasp, mouth open, eyes big...but this time, instead of just running up to me and jumping into my arms, she ran up, jumped, and gave me the wettest, sloppiest kiss!  It caught me totally off guard...my big, blue eyes probably were bigger than hers have ever been!  Ha!  She just went on and hugged me and started to play again...

It wasn't until later, as I was thinking over the day that I have a realization...I don't know if you've heard the song "Oh How He Loves..."  Well, sometimes I really like to hear it and other times I am over it...maybe I'm the only one who gets that way with songs...anyway, the original version of the song (until it was censored by Christian radio...really?!)...says...
"And heaven meets earth like a sloppy, wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
Oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves all
How He loves."

This little girl, so full of life, so full of wonder,
So full of unconditional love...
Met me with a sloppy, wet kiss...

The words kind of made me uncomfortable before...something about sloppy, wet, and kiss...talking about God at the same time...but it has new meaning for me now...

The way heaven and earth collide when we are truly the body of Christ to others...it is messy...it's not romantic, or this beautiful masterpiece....but it is a messy, sloppy kiss that sometimes makes us uncomfortable, sometimes doesn't look pretty...but the background of the action of the kiss is unconditional love....it is heaven, in all its beauty and mystery, crashing into earth in the form of us....broken people...it catches us and OTHERS off guard with its force and unguarded affection...

And in all of this...God demonstrates his love for us...that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us...the biggest, sloppiest kiss of all...

Thank you, Lord, for your kisses upon this world...and for using a child to remind me of what a beautiful mess it is...