Finding Confidence in God’s Love
My favorite bakery looks like something out of a movie. It’s cozy and quaint with a glass case full of every kind of cookie you could hope. One afternoon I was still trying to settle on what I wanted to buy as I stepped up to the cash register.
“I’m SO sorry for the wait,” said the girl behind the register.
“No problem,” I said. “There really wasn’t a wait.”
“I’m sorry,” said the girl. “Do you know what you’d like to order?
“I think so,” I said and began pointing out a few items in the glass case.
“I’m sorry it’s taking me a while to get everything together,” said the girl as she bustled around.
“No problem—you’re doing great. And I’m not in a hurry anyway,” I responded.
She apologized a few more times as she added up my order. I told her, “no problem,” each time and I meant it. There literally wasn’t a problem. No one was behind me in line and the girl wasn’t moving slowly anyway.
At the last minute I changed my mind and decided to put one thing back and get another instead.
“I’m sorry,” said the girl as she altered my order.
“No, this time I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m sorry I made things more difficult for you.”
“It’s no problem at all,” the girl said, smiling. She looked relieved.
I felt a sense of relief too—because for that moment, while I was sorry, the girl at the cash register didn’t have to be. She squeezed in a couple more I’m sorry’s before I was out the door, and I left there wondering how many times she’d apologized that afternoon, and to how many different people. I wondered how she’d feel at the very end of the day, having been sorry over and over and over again, and I thought about how she’d seemed to shrink a little each time she’d said it. I thought about how much God loves her and how relieved she would be if she could see herself through His loving eyes. I considered telling her that but wasn’t sure if she’d feel embarrassed and terribly uncomfortable since I don’t know her at all. So I prayed for her.
I can totally relate to that girl at the bakery. Sometimes, without even realizing it, I let a destructive thought pattern slip into my mind and take root.
When I notice myself thinking repetitive, self-destructive thoughts, it helps me to remember God’s perspective when He’s looking at me. And if I can’t picture that easily at the moment, I picture the way He looks at my children and then remember that He looks at me that way too.
Blessings to you as you find confidence in God’s love.
~Amy