And in the darkness of the night...

Comes an unexpected blessing, wrapped in pain as so many are lately.

When your children are little, you are constantly touching them.  They love to snuggle in your arms and be held.  As they grow older, your opportunities to hold them grow fewer.  They move away from your hugs more quickly.. their kisses are more brief and less moist.  By the time they are teenagers, moments of touch are fleeting and sorely missed.

At a little after one o'clock this morning, seventeen year-old Katherine came to our room in an agony of pain and tears.  A bad foot cramp had woven it's way into her dreams to wake her.  I woke to find her standing next to our bed crying.

She came to me for comfort and healing; something she rarely needs from her mom as she nears adulthood.
And in the humblest way possible, God blessed me with the ability to provide her with relief.  I took her foot in my hands, and massaged away her pain, whispering gently to her all the while.  "It's okay.  Shhh...  It's okay."  The words of every mother to her baby... holding her, loving her, my heart full with this unexpected gift of service.