"God loves you the same."

This week, I received five letters from precious little souls who live halfway around the world from me. As someone whose love language includes the written word, these letters were tools to both fill me up and allow tears to come crashing down upon me. I miss them... so much.

But there was a line that stuck with me. Sweet Grace, 16 years old, was thanking me for the time I spent in Ghana last year, and she told me "Thank you for loving us. God loves you the same."

So simple... Yet how quickly I forget.

I know how much I adore these children... I am not a parent and while I hope to be some day, I know there is a love that cannot be matched outside of parenting... But this love that I do feel, whatever kind it may be, is still consuming... powerful... strong... It makes me weep as I yearn to be back with their sweet souls. I long for all 41 children I lived with to know how deeply I love them and how much I want the best for them. I want Florence to know how deeply the pain in her eyes pierces my heart every time I look at the pictures from the day I left. How badly I wish I could just bring her home with me... Yet I know that God has a greater plan for her in Ghana. I want the older kids to know that regardless of their past or lies that have been said about then or pain that they continue to work through, they are beautiful in my eyes and have so much to live for. I want them all to know how deeply I love them.

And then Grace's words sink in... "God loves you the same."

In this case, it means that God wants all these things and more... for me. The Psalms tell me that he wants to grant the desires of my heart... To guide me down a path of righteousness... To set me free from my past... To lead me to a place of rest and worship... He wants me to trust this His plans are good...

He wants me to remember that He loves me the same. I can only imagine how strong that Love must be...

So thankful for the beautiful, wise Grace!