HUGS

Ah the joy of affection. It is a wonderful sensation being touch in a loving way. But if it is phony in any way, it can really be annoying.

I'm sorry, but I'm not a big fan of when somebody I don't know things hugging is a good idea. I just think it should be because you genuinely care about the person. At least I feel it ought to be genuine.

Call it a silly obsession, but I hate I love you's and I care about you that are hollow and meaningless. A fake form of affection to me is no better than none at all.

In this age of plastic emotions and cardboard personalities it seems so often we end up finding ourselves in a position of going through the motions. We know we are suppose to care. To love with genuine feelings.

But what if we don't have such feelings? What if we can't bring ourselves to rise about that lukewarm deadness that often settles in the soul?

Does God expect us to act like we care when we don't? Or should we keep beating on ourselves till we do?

And if we can't beat hard enough, can we let a bible sage whack us with all the Bible admonitions to make us do so? If so, does it really work or do we fake it?

I'm sure the real answer isn't one that we care to admit. That there are too many times we simply don't care.

Nobody is likely to confess that truth and they aren't certainly going to be inclined to want to admit it either. That is a fact of life.

God, however, still knows the truth whether we admit it or not. What is amazing is how he uses us despite such realities.

Sometimes we actually end up serving his purpose and touching even when we don't think it something that counts. That is the most important thing.

It might not seem like a big deal to give a person a cup of water. Such a small form of help, but I think it is a symbol of how we never know when that truly will give life to someone else.

So in the midst of the many times we get lost in the mayhem of sensory dullness, we can try to listen. Not allow ourselves to say, "Ah, it doesn't matter. It is just a small thing."

The difference is whether we do as we are lead. Some of us will listen, some of us will not. That is what makes us so essential in his will. It isn't when the times of drama show through, it is the times of quiet when our heartbeat is tested the most in terms of caring.