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Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak but He is strong

It is one of the first songs I remember learning as a little child.

I loved Sunday School. It is where I learned about God. My mother was a teacher in the Beginner’s Department, ages three to six. She used wonderful flannelgraph lessons to teach about God and His son Jesus Christ.

• Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.
• Daniel in the lion’s den, when God closed the mouths of the lions and saved Daniel.
• Peter, James and John in the sailboat. Not a good night of fishing until along came Jesus walking on the water.
• Baby Jesus, born in a manger to save us from our sins. Our Hope.

Little did I know then, how God would use those lessons to prepare me for life.

How long was it before I learned those lessons were more than placing pretty pictures on a board? They were teaching me much more than my young mind realized at the time.

How many times would I stop to remind myself of the words of that sweet song?

Jesus Loves Me This I know

I grew up in that church with my husband, Steve. There isn’t a time I can remember when he was not part of my life. I began to see him differently when I was about fourteen years old. I loved him for sure when I was sixteen and married that boy when I was eighteen.

For almost forty-four years, I shared life with him as his wife and the mother to our three children. We became grandparents to seven amazing children who called us their Popeye and Poops.

There have been many times in my life when I have called on the Lord for His help, but during those times there were two voices heard crying out to God, two waiting on His answer, His help.

And one day, I found myself cracked and broken.

Just like the child’s nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty.

How sad I remember the story to be when he fell. And no one, not even the king’s horses nor the king’s men, could put him together again.

I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.
Psalm 38:8 (NIV)

The wall of my life was broken instantly. Though my heart continued to beat, and my brain sent signals to breathe, life drained out of me. Instantly, I became old and found myself in uncharted and unwanted waters.

And His reminder came to my broken heart.

Jesus Loves Me This I know

The days continue on. Waves of grief threaten to take me down at times. As a pandemic and world unrest magnify grief, I see the barren and cracked wall changing as the Lord calls forth songs of joy.

The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
You call forth songs of joy.
Psalm 65:8 (NIV)

I have learned it wasn’t just any ‘king’s horse or king’s man’ who could put the broken together again. It is the King of Kings Himself, our Father God, who can mend our broken hearts and cause dry, scorched hearts to live again.

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

Dear Heavenly Father, we ask for Your protection across our land and healing in the hearts of mankind. May Your hand guide us and Your right hand hold us fast as each of us remembers, “Jesus Loves Me, This I know.” Amen