Most days, an embrace with my husband is a quick and brief greeting. Our arms are usually occupied by boys, toys, or laundry; they rarely linger before moving on to the next call for duty.
The Preacher and I recently experienced some uncomfortable tension in our relationship while under the strain of pressure and stress. Times like these create such a chasm of silence and distance between two friends. Everything about that gap threatens to gape wider with sinful clinging to one's pride. That's how conflicts can go...and many find the Grand Canyon carved out from where forgiveness used to reside.
By God's faithfulness, we are not among those.
We tie ourselves on to the first anchor of brokenness we are given and swim across the vast ocean of emotion, and pull ourselves onto the shore of reconciliation and confession. There, the foundation is firm. There, forgiveness washes our sin out to sea. There, we embrace and hold still...and wonder why it is that we don't take more time each day to hug deeply.
Not as mere greeting or routine, but an intentional re-proclamation that: We are in this together.
Artwork from etsy.