Our son Hans was a polar bear. Even in the coldest weather, if he could, he would escape the confines of the house and wander around outside with bare feet and no coat. I was afraid that Child Protective Services would see the little bare footprints in the snow and charge us with child abuse.
He was never cold. Or so I thought. So one day we went sledding. While everyone else was wearing snowsuits, extra socks, gloves—the whole winter get out, he was wearing a thin coat and little yellow rubber rain boots. Hans never gets cold, I reasoned.
And then I saw him shivering.
“What an idiot I’ve been!” I told myself, as I scooped him up and rushed him to the car where I turned on the heater full blast.
And so here we have lesson #2: When we hurt, God hurts.
Instantly. Completely. Without reservation. He feels our pain. He cares. More deeply than we will ever know.
Dwight
PS. On May 18, the Inner Wealth topic will be neutralizing unpleasant emotions. We’ll talk about where unpleasant emotions come from, two categories of unpleasant emotions, and step-by-step tactics you can take to return to peace and joy.
