A Backpack Full of Kisses

“Don’t make me go! I don’t want to go to school!”

This is a plea that most parents have probably heard from their child as the school year begins, especially if the child is just beginning that journey in life.

There are moments that are ultimately for our good, but are hard to go through. Their little voices are so sincere. “But I want to stay home with you!  I miss you when I am at school!”

But as Rivka Zahava knelt in front of her son this morning, an idea sparked.  “Hand me your backpack,” she said.  Sniffling, her little boy shoved it into her hand.  Creating a little hole by unzipping the bag a few inches, she said softly to him, “This morning I put a sandwich and some carrot sticks in your bag.  Now you won’t get hungry.  I also put hugs, kisses, and smiles!  Lots and lots of them!  When you get sad at school, just open your bag and let them fly out at you.” Rivka’s little boy was happy now, so hand in hand they began to walk together.

We all have backpacks on our backs. Ours are packed by God.

God sends us out into this world, where we can’t see Him or hear Him. There are moments that are ultimately for our good, but are excruciatingly hard to go through.  Whether it is the stress of waiting a week for an emergency MRI appointment, or the pain of saying goodbye to a loved one forever, sometimes it feels as if He has abandoned us, and we shrivel up in fear.  Even in those bleak moments, if we look around us, we will find millions of His “kisses” in every moment of every day.  Sometimes it is a helpful neighbor who saves the day; sometimes it is a child’s laughter.  Maybe it is a starry sky, or the smell of an overflowing jasmine plant. Whatever the kiss may look or feel like, it is a moment when we are comforted and encouraged, when we feel that the world is perfectly wonderful and that we have so much to be happy for.

“I am for my Beloved and my Beloved is for me, the Shepherd of roses.” Why “the Shepherd of roses?”  King Solomon’s hidden message to us is that we make ourselves into roses, then “He is our Shepherd.” A rose is a symbol of freshness … love, alive and beautiful.  Our relationship with our creator should be one of renewed commitment each day.

During Solomon’s reign as king of Israel, there was unprecedented peace and prosperity; Israel was feared and respected by surrounding nations.  Let us pray for the peace that was once a part of Jerusalem to return (Psalm 122:6).  Let’s keep our “backpacks filled with tidings of great joy” to those we meet each day.

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