A Fascinating Flickering
When I was nine years old, my mom told me to not play with or blow out the candle that sat in the middle of our house. I loved being the one who got to light the candle with a match or lighter because it made me feel like a grown-up. But one Saturday afternoon, as mom was going to take a nap, she told me not to mess with that candle!
I agreed, but when she went to lay down, I tip-toed over to the table where the candle was sitting, flickering away. The magnificent glow of the flame was so captivating. At first I was just admiring the view, but then I thought, “Maybe I should blow it out.” My thinking was, “If I'm not going to be monitoring it, then it probably shouldn’t keep burning.” So I inhaled the biggest amount of air I possibly could and blew out the candle. “AHHHHHHH!” I screamed. The hot wax from the candle had splattered all over my face. I was so scared. Panicked, I ran to my mom’s room crying. I woke her up screaming and crying. I could feel the wax hardening on my skin!
She calmly got up and we rushed to the bathroom, where she washed off my face. She had tried to tell me not to play with the candles. But I didn’t listen—I did it anyway. I looked at her repentantly and said, “I’m so so sorry.”
Even though I disobeyed her, my mom was calm. She showed me love and forgave me. How was it so easy for her to forgive me even though I disobeyed her so quickly? How was she so calm in this situation when I was completely freaking out!?
This was one of the first times I started to understand what God’s love was really like, through my mom. The love she showed me went beyond anything I could comprehend.
Isaiah 54:10 says, “‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
No matter what mistakes we make, we know that God’s love will always be abundant! He will be there ready to forgive us and help us clean up our messes.
By Zack Posthumus, Record Designer
