I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about love as I have been sitting in my mom's hospital room. My mom is not very lucid and she is very weak. She has tubes in her and is on a ventilator. She cannot communicate because of the tubes in her mouth and because she is weak. She blinks her eyes and raises her forehead when she hears us. From an external perspective, my mom is not really beautiful. She is never going to make it on the cover of a fashion magazine in her current state.

But I love her; my heart is after her; my thoughts are about her future. I really don't care if my mom will ever walk again. I really don't care if my mom will ever be able wave at me again. I really don't care if she can ever talk to me again. I still love her and I know that she still loves me. Those physical things do not define my love for her - I love her for who she is and what she is. I love her because she is my mom and I will do anything in my power to care for her. Period. There is nothing more to say than that.

These thoughts have brought me to God the Father. I understand a little more how He loves me. I will never make the cover of a fashion magazine. I will never be the "best" at something. I will never be perfect. But that does not matter to God. He loves me for who I am. He is my dad and I am his child and He cares for and loves me. Period. There is nothing more to say than that.