Koala Bear Hug

I spiritually wrap my arms around His neck and my legs around His waist

My sons and I were leaving the house to go run some errands and as we pulled out of the driveway, my daughter opened the door to make sure she said goodbye. As we drove off, the boys said, “You love her, don’t you, Daddy?” I said, “no more or less than you.” I love you all the same, but there is something different about having a daughter. I told them we boys get to share in so many things that she doesn’t and that someday, when they have had a daughter of their own, they will understand how I feel. When I’m with the boys, I’m reminded of strength and passion. I often get caught up in wrestling or competing or chasing after some goal. We fight, we play hard, and we use our God given strength to run hard after the Lord. I love my boys. They remind me of the strength of God. 

This morning while I was helping my youngest boy, Shiloh, get ready for school, Harper, my daughter came in the room and jumped on the bed where I was sitting and wrapped her entire body around mine like a Koala bear does to a tree. She had her arms around my neck and her legs wrapped around my waist. How could it be that she loves me this much? All I could think about is, “Lord, this is how I feel when I’m with you. I spiritually wrap my arms around your neck and my legs around your waist.” 

I do not have favorites, but I cherish the differences between my sons and a daughter. I know more about my Heavenly Father from each of them. The thing that struck me this morning was the sheer affection and unashamed, unembarrassed love my daughter has for me as her Father. This shows me a physical example of how I see myself with Jesus. My daughter doesn’t have that young pride the boys have, which would make them feel awkward embracing their dad in a deeply affectionate way. They show their affection differently and I cherish it as well. God reveals himself to me differently through my daughter, and I am amazed every time He lets me see him through her. Another thing He does often is give me examples of his love for me but showing me my love for her and the boys. When I was helping Shiloh get ready, He laid his head on my lap and said He loved me. He didn’t embrace me but He wanted to be near me, and I felt just as loved by him as I did with that Koala bear hug from my daughter. 

As a man, I have had to learn the beauty of intimacy with the Father. Intimacy has always been associated with sex in marriage, so to learn intimacy with the Father kind of seemed foreign. If I am made in his image, sustained by his Word, sealed by his Spirit, gathered in His arms like a mother hen would gather her brood under her wings, and loved with a pure everlasting love, then I guess intimacy would be the best word. This is what I know in my heart—that the way harper fully embraced me this morning is how I think I embrace him throughout my day. I mean, forget about being manly or proper—if I saw Jesus, I would run full speed and jump into his body, wrapping my arms around his neck, and legs around his waist—and this would be the most satisfying embrace ever known to man. Intimacy in marriage would pale in comparison. 

If I’m being honest, I used to never think this way. I loved Jesus, and I served him, but I never had holy, intimate embraces like I do now. I was talking to a good friend of mine the other day about how the most simple truths of God’s word bring me to tears, whereas back in my 20s, it had to be puritan theology or nothing else. We laughed because when someone says, “Isn’t God so good?” we are like, Oh my goodness, Yes he is! The funny this is I used to say the same phrase way back when, but now I truly believe it. “Jesus changes everything,” YES HE DOES! “God just absolutely adores you.” Oh, YES I KNOW. He has opened my eyes like he did for Paul and all the simple elementary truths of God’s word are now the foundational theologies of my life. I still love the deep things in scripture, but it is the “I abide in you’s,” and the “Nothing will separate you’s” and “the Father loves you because you have loved me’s” that bring me to a child-like love for Him.  

It’s been said that Koalas spend most of their lives in trees and the only time they come down is to find another tree with a more abundant supply of food. Well, I have found the tree of life and need no more dirt on my feet from searching for another source that promises a more abundant supply. God shows me my love for Him through the physical and emotional affection from my children. Isn’t He just lovely?