Feeling Love. There is something so heartwarming when a loved one is waiting for you and welcomes you with open arms. I regularly experienced that feeling growing up when we would make the road trip to visit my grandmother in Fort Worth, Texas.
My grandmother and her best friend, who lived across the street, used to babysit me as a toddler. The unconditional love of a grandparent is hard to describe. They loved and cared for me and fed me “hamboogie and chee chee’s… known to us adults as a hamburger and Cheetos. That was my favorite lunch.
Grandma’s Love
Grandma would take me to her mother’s down the street, and I would play in the yard with my cousins. As I got older, I would hear the joy in her voice as she reminisced about the joys of watching me.
I was never upset to make the long ride to grandma’s or, as we called her, Mother Dear. She would be standing on her front porch as we pulled into the gravel driveway. She was jumping up and down with joy, shouting, “where’s my baby…where’s my baby?”
I would make my way out of the car, still sleepy from the ride. Her eyes lit up, and her smile was as big as Texas. She held me in her arms and gave me kisses. I was never too cool for kisses from Ma Dear.
She would take me by the hand and lead me to the kitchen. There, on her tiny kitchen table, in all its glory, was a four-layer homemade coconut cake with cream cheese icing! She opened the refrigerator to show me a bin full of ice-cold sodas and small chocolate milk cartons.
We would talk to her about our trip as she prepared her delectable, homemade fried chicken for us. She cooked the best fried chicken in the whole world!
Unmatched Love
I cherish the memories in my heart remembering Lillie Mae waiting for me to arrive at her home. However, someone was watching and waiting for me to commit my heart to Him for years fully. His name is Jesus.
Every time I read the story of the prodigal son, I see myself in that story. (Luke 15:11-32) I may not have asked my father for half my inheritance, but I had my moments of selfishness. I have spent some time slopping around in the “pig pen” as well.
What is so amazing about God’s love is that He welcomed me back just as I was. I did not have to get cleaned up or get my life in order. I just had to come home to Him with a contrite heart.
But when He came to his senses, He said… I will get up and go to my Father and will say to Him, Father I have sinned against Heaven, and in Your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men. So he got up and came to his Father. (Luke 15:17-20)
Verse twenty of Luke 15 is key. There was action. The prodigal son made a choice. Whether you are a backslidden Christian like I was, lost in your stubbornness and selfishness, or someone who does not know Jesus as Savior, He is watching and waiting for you.
God wants to transform your heart, wrap you in His arms of comfort and give you the kiss of His peace. God is not off somewhere busy with errands or lying down for a quick nap. He is waiting for you with expectant joy. No matter how long your journey or if you have lost your way, Jesus will never give up on you. He loves you.
But while he was still a long way off his Father saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him, and kissed him. (vs. 20)
Unconditional Love
I want to drive this point home. God is not frowning down on us when we return to Him. God is disappointed, and He may be saddened when we don’t seek Him first in everything. He still loves us unconditionally. There are consequences for sin. Our Heavenly Father disciplines with love to mold us into the children He desires.
Jesus is waiting and watching for you and me to see things through His eyes. Seek His will, accept his unfailing love, and live a life that glorifies Him in all that we do. When we do these things, that is how we love Him in return.
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. (I John 3:1)
God has chosen us to be an integral part of His royal family. Embrace this and thank Him for His love and the promise of eternal glory with Him. He is molding us into shining beacons of hope in this dark and sinful world.
Thankful for God’s Love
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Thanking God helps us keep our eyes on Him. This gives us great hope knowing He is watching over and waiting for us to return to Him. Brothers and sisters, God has been faithful despite our times of faithlessness. Return to Him immediately, seek His wisdom, and He will bless you.
You have dealt well with your servant O Lord, according to Your word. teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. (Psalm 119:65,66)
To summarize, the love of Jesus can be hard to comprehend at times. However, His love is so amazing, indescribable, and unfailing. Will you come to your senses and seek Him wholeheartedly? Jesus is waiting for you.
Please keep your eyes on Jesus, my friend.
Horace Williams Jr.
Horace Williams Jr is the oldest son of a pastor who went to be with Jesus in 2020. He is an award-winning author and amateur chef who loves Jesus Christ. His passion for Christ inspires readers to draw nearer to the God who loves them.
What a treat to be your neighbor on Susan Mead’s link up..I love your story of your grandma, what blessings some grandmas are! Yours was such a blessing, and I love your heart for Jesus..I’m sure you inspire so many! Great to be here today!
Thank you Kathy for visiting. Yes, I loved my grandma dearly. She was one of a kind! I thankful for the love of my Savior. He continues to be patient with me and shows me grace. I want to live a life that is pleasing to Him. May He be glorified in all that I do. Thanks again for the visit. Have a great week! Blessings to you and yours.
Love the story and memories of your loving grandma! so true that He waits constantly with open arms for all of us (and those I’m still praying for!!)
Thank you Sue for visiting and your comment. Yes, Lillie Mae was very special to me. I hope I see her in Heaven one day. I am thankful for my loving Savior, who continues to watch over me. Have a fantastic week. Blessings to you and yours.
Such a great story about you and your grandma…and focusing on Jesus! Praise God! Blessings to you.
Thank you Stacey. I am thankful that Jesus was waiting for and continues to watch over me. What a blessing to be loved by Jesus!
Horace, I always appreciate your posts that include childhood stories and memories!
Thank you Michele. The seem to be my mother’s favorite posts as well. blessings to you and yours.
Love that the father of the Prodigal Son ran with open arms to his son as soon as he saw him headed his way. It’s the same as your sweet grandma jumping up and down at the sight of your arrival. Thank you, Horace, for sharing a beautiful memory that speaks of God’s great love for those who turn to Him.
Amen Crystal! I am so thankful that Jesus waited for me to return to Him.I spent a lot of my years running away from Him. He is patient,loving and comforted me when I was broken. He continues to shower me with His love as a seek to glorify Him. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share. Blessings to you and yours sweet friend.
Amen! I’m so thankful for a forgiving Father who doesn’t frown upon me and has been faithful to me even when I wasn’t faithful to Him. Horace, your words are written with truth and kindness, thank you! Thanks for sharing with Thankful Thursdays. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
I hear you Lori. God’s grace is undeserved. I want to glorify Him in all that I do. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share. Thankful Thursdays has always been such an oasis for me as I head towards the end of each week. Thank you for your encouragement and you willingness to walk alongside as we serve our Savor. Blessings to you and yours dear friend.
Hey Horace, haven’t been over here in a long while! Thank you for this reminder of God’s amazing love.
Thanks for your visit today Susan. God has been so good to me and His grace is so undeserved. I am thankful that He was waiting and watching for me to come back to Him. May I glorify Him in all that I do. Have a great weekend!
And how patiently He waits for us. What an awesome God!
Amen Lux. What an AMAZING God we serve indeed. Thank you for visiting. Have a blessed weekend.
Horace,
You had me smiling so big with the thoughts of your grandma being so excited to see her babies! And then, at the end, you had me nearly cracking up as you said, “Will you come to your senses?” Yes! Preach it! Love it! Our Heavenly Father does love us with a love that never fails. He forgives and celebrates when we stop the wandering! We can walk away from the “pig pen” leaving it in the past. We don’t have to stay there. There is hope – always! Thanks for sharing, friend, at #MomentsofHope!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
Thanks for visiting and your sincere comment Lori. I’m glad to read that you enjoyed this post. It is near and dear to my heart. I am thankful that Jesus waited patiently for me as I ran away and frolicked in the “pig pen” for many years. He continues to mold me direct and encourage me as I seek to live for Him. I thank Him for His forgiveness and His grace and now my hope is completely in Him. What a blessed Savior! Thanks again for stopping by. Have a fantastic weekend and may God bless you and your family.
Horace I love this! I especially love, “What is so amazing about God’s love is He welcomed me just as I was. I did not have to get cleaned up or get my life in order. I just had to come home to Him with a contrite heart.” Amen. This was uplifting to read this morning, our dear loving pastor has passed away this weekend and the one thing he would say is, “Keep your eyes on the prize.” What you wrote near the end made me think of that. Thank you!
I am glad to read you were blessed by this post Meghan. I ask God for wisdom before I sit down to write. I pray my words are bathed in His wisdom. I am thankful that Jesus waited for me to return to Him. I needed to be humbled and to recognize the reason He allowed me to know Him as my Savior. It was not to live for myself but to live for Him so that He is glorified. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share. Have a wonderful week and may God bless you and yours.
This is such a beautiful story about your Grandmother’s heart, and her love for you! What a true picture of what love looks like. I pray that I will be able to share that kind of heart with my own Grandchildren, it is such an honor to love them with the love of Jesus! I’m visiting from Meg’s site, and I am so glad she pointed me your direction! –Blessings to you!
Thank you for visiting and your kind words.. I’m sure when you love your grandchildren with the love of Jesus, they will be blessed. They will see an example of Christ like love. I can think of no better gift you can give them. Thank you again for visiting today. Have a fantastic. God bless.
Thank you for this reminder of God’s great love for us. How thankful I am that He welcomes each repentant sinner into His family!
Amen Tracey! What a wonderful Savior who loves us. Thanks for visiting today. Have a fantastic week. Blessings to you and yours.
Love this, Horace and how you drive home the fact that while God would rather we choose Him first, He loves us always. So many people live in the fear of facing a disappointed Father, but He is truly waiting with open arms. Great encouragement and promise here, Horace.
I agree Tiffany. What a loving Father we serve. Sometimes in those moments of feeling lost or broken there is fear. Jesus loves us and His desire is that we return to Him. He may discipline us if we have sinned but ultimately He will love us, protect us, and mold us to be more like Him. Always blessed to hear from you Tiffany. Have a fantastic week and may God bless you and yours.
Yes, we do need to get to know our Father’s heart. He is waiting for us to return to Him. Thank you Horace! Blessings upon blessings!
Thank you for the visit Mari-Anna. Blessings to you and yours.
Horace, I love the story of the prodigal son too and how you compared our Father’s delight in having us come to Him with your grandmother. My grandmother fried some good chicken too! What a precious memory to capture our gracious Father’s love!
Amen Debbie. We are blessed by the patience and undeserved grace our Heavenly Father bestows on us. I’m glad to read you enjoyed this post. Thank you for dropping by today Debbie. Oh I would love some of my Ma dear’s chicken;) I pray all is well with you. Have a fantastic weekend and may God bless you and yours.
Horace I so enjoy how you continually share the stories of your life here! What a wonderful word picture of our Father waiting and anticipating “US!” You have sent me off to my day this morning feeling blessed:)
Thank you Crystal. I am so glad to read you enjoyed this post. The fact that God was waiting for me to return to Him continues to inspire me to live for Him so that He is glorified. Thank you for your visit today. have a wonderful week and blessings to you and yours.
Horace, I so enjoyed reading about the love you and your Ma Dear shared. A grand parent’s love truly is a special thing. You were blessed to have that relationship with her!
And even more, I love how you shared about God’s love for us, even when we aren’t all together, or perfect. Even when we’ve messed up big. There’s such reassurance in knowing there is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us! 🙂
Amen Jeanne! Nothing can separate from the unconditional love of God. I am encouraged to read you enjoyed the post. Mother Dear was a one of a kind! Her exuberant unconditional love is something I will never forget. Thank you for your visit today. I hope you have a wonderful week and may God bless you and yours.
I love this walk down memory lane. I miss mama so! No one else like her! Next week she would have been 97years old! What a lady!!! Hugs!!!
Love you mother. She will be missed and continues to be especially this time of year. Praying for you always. Love you
What a blessing to have a grandma with a heart and smile as big as Texas! I too cherish special memories with my grandmothers. I like the way you honed in on the point of God waiting for us just as the father in the prodigal son story. It never stops amazing me how rich this parable is. Have a great day!
Yes, she was definitely a blessing Ginger. I will always cherish my time that I had with Mother Dear. I am thankful for my Father in Heaven and His willingness in waiting for me to return to Him. It is my heart’s desire to acknowledge Him in every aspect of my life and trust His guidance. I may not always understand but I know He loves me unconditionally. Always great to hear from you Ginger. I hope you have a fantastic week and may God richly bless you and yours.
Great memories brother! I love the comparison.
Thanks sis. Those are some memories I will always remember. Thanks for visiting and have a blessed week.
What a wonderful post! I wish I had warm memories of Ma Dear. Unfortunately, most of my memories of her are from after she developed dementia. I enjoy hearing about her though. To know that Jesus loves us more than Ma Dear, Mom & Dad, or anybody is mind boggling. What a great love!
Amen baby sister! When you think of the love that Jesus bestows on us, it is incomparable to anything we will ever experience in our lives. I am thankful for the grace that He showed me as He waited patiently for me to come to Him. I miss Mother Dear so much and I wish she was still here with us as we head towards the holiday season. She had a laugh that could fill the room with love. Thanks for the visit. Always great to hear from you. Proud of you Carrie!
Horace, the power of our Daddy’s love is slathered all over your testimony. Man, I can see it a mile away, and it’s good. Please, please, please continue to chime the call for salvation, to remind those who have strayed that coming back is okay. Their eterninty in heaven might very well hinge upon it. Enjoy your weekend as you soak in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and always know I’m thankful for your visits over at my blog. You’re an encourager and appreciated much. Grace and peace to you.
Amen Kristi. As much as it gives me great joy to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ. I long for unbelievers to know Jesus as their Father like myself. There is no greater joy than being a child of His. I pray that God will always give me the words to help lead the unsaved to Jesus. I may not ever know it now, but oh what joy when I see them in Heaven with our Savior. Jesus asks us to share the Gospel and He will speak to their hearts. Always a blessing to hear from you Kristi. Thanks for visiting and sharing your gift of writing. I am always inspired when I visit. Have a fantastic weekend and enjoy your holiday with your family next week. Blessings.
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! I wish I was able to have met your grandma and have some of those hamboogies and chee chee’s too. I can truly sense that she was a kind, caring and compassionate grandma that shun her wisdom down to you and all of the family. Grandma’s are the BEST! God has truly blessed you to allow her in your life and I know she is still with you until the end of time. He is such a good God and he knows what we need, who we need and more importantly when we need. Keep continuing to spread his word and blessing others just as he has blessed you!
Hey Dove…aka Dexter. Thanks for the visit. Yes, you and me would have chowed down on my grandma’s cooking. I miss her dearly. I could always feel the love from the moment we pulled up. I remember jumping off her plastic covered sofa as a child. Words cannot express my gratitude for my Jesus patience in waiting for me to return to Him. He showers me with His love comforts me with unexpected blessings. I pray He is glorified in all that I do. Thanks again for stopping by brother. Have a fantastic weekend. Praying for your daughter’s recovery. May God bless you and your family.
Horace,
This is beautiful…I can just see you as a little guy being warmly welcomed into Ma Dear’s arms. How much wider are the arms of Jesus if we will just turn from our ways and run into His waiting arms. What a great visual story of His great and unfathomable love for us.
Blessings,
Bev
Thanks for the visit Bev. I glad to read you enjoyed this post. Ma Dear was a special lady in my life. I will always love and miss her. Yesterday would have her 95th birthday. I hope to see her in Heaven someday. I am thankful that Jesus loves me so and continues to watch over me. His unconditional love is priceless. I hope you have a fantastic holiday weekend and may God bless you and yours.