Jesus loves the little girl

There is a little girl in all of us.  Maybe she’s running through a field of sunflowers, or maybe she’s tucked quietly away in a small dark closet.  Wherever she is, Jesus loves the little girl in each of us.
Today you get to hear from her, the little girl inside of me, as she describes in her voice a recent experience at a praise service.  This is her first post, so she’s a little nervous.

I love music.  I love loud music, and to listen to music for six hours straight is fun to me. We are going to an event called The Burn, but there’s no bonfire. It’s just worship music. 
She’s bringing a notebook, a book, her Bible, and some papers.  Sometimes, I wish she would just be still. We have six hours. Maybe she will.   
She’s anxious again, and writing out her “God is” verses. Good. That always helps her. 
Now she is marking in the book she brought with a pink marker.  
I love PINK!
She marked something about the voice that calls you the Beloved. 

Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply. It is like discovering a well in the desert.  Once you have touched wet ground, you will want to dig deeper. ~ Henri Nouwen [Life of the Beloved]

Wow, it is getting loud in here. I love it loud. Now she is getting up again, and we are going to paint! Yay! I love to paint!
She wants to paint about what she just read because she says it is so true. I know she believes it. Sometimes, I do. 
I can still hear the music and see the stage from where we are painting.  
This is my happy place. 
Almost done, there!  I love it.  

When we go back in to sit down, a new girl is on the stage singing.  I love her voice. It is like an angel.  
I sit on the edge of my seat with my chin on my hands and I am taking in every word.  “He loves us, Oh, how He loves us!”She loves that song. She plays it all the time. Over and over. Sometimes it makes her cry, but she says it is a good cry.  A happy cry.  Sometimes, I believe her. 
Tonight, she is smiling.  I believe she is happy tonight.  
So, I smile too, and lean back into her arms and listen to the angel voice.  Right as she is holding me close and the music is playing, the angel voice softly sings, “Jesus Loves Me!”
Wait!  That’s my song!
I know those words.  So, I start to move my lips and I sing.  My heart starts pounding as I sing louder, “Jesus loves me.  This I know.  For the Bible tells me so.  Little girls to Him belong.  They are weak, but He is strong.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves ME!!”I know it is true.  
I believe He loves ME. 
The angel voice is leaving now and I want to give her a hug and thank her. But when I go to her it’s hard for me to say anything because I am crying happy tears.  
So I just hug her and say “Thank you.”
The angel voice smiles and takes my hand and says, “I feel like the Lord wants me to tell you that a new season is beginning for you.  It’s coming soon. I picture you lying on your bed and waves of praise surrounding you. A new and deeper praise over you and in you.” 
I wasn’t sure what all that meant so I just smiled, but she knew because she hugged the angel voice again and said, “Thank you!  It’s already starting. Thank you so much!” 
Prayer:  Jesus, thank you for the ways you continue to redeem and restore all that was lost. Thank you for speaking to our hearts and showing up in ways that amaze us.  Thank you for loving us, and the precious little girl inside of each of us. Help us to believe it, always. Thank you Jesus!
In this version of the song, “How He Loves Us,” (at about 7 mins in) Kim Walker-Smith says, “The love of God changes us, and we are never the same.  We are never the same after we encounter the love of God!” Have you encountered the love of God? Maybe, grab a sheet of paper and some pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils or paint and take a few minutes to create as you listen.
The little girl in me is not the same.  She has tasted and seen.  She is loved.
Jesus loves the little girl.
Jesus loves the little girl in you, too.

Linking up with: Jennifer Dukes Lee

& Bonnie Gray

& Suzie Eller