Connections

Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-7

So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord - for we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NRSV)

Kami K. Preston lives in Tennessee. Making connections with students while teaching remotely is hard. She can't pat them on the back or easily whisper words of encouragement when they struggle. She can't offer high fives when they succeed. Instead, she tries to get to know her students when they share a project or when they eat lunch together online. Still it's hard not to feel disconnected.

One day after a reading lesson on character traits, Kami presented a slide with a picture of her face and asked her students to list some of her traits. Waiting anxiously, she wondered, Will they be kind or brutally honest? a quiet third-grade boy melted Kami's heart by writing these words: "She loves me." Yes, child! She most certainly does. If Kami does nothing else right, she has shown one child that she loves him.

Just as Kami works hard to connect with her students, God is always calling to us and reaching out to draw us into relationship. It can be difficult to feel God's pats on the back or hear God's whispers of encouragement. But when we take time to know God's character through reading scripture and observing creation, we grow closer to God. What a joy it must bring God to hear us say, "God loves me!"

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for calling us into deeper relationship with you, in Jesus' name. Amen.