The moment I stepped over my Aunt and Uncle’s threshold, I knew we made the right decision. My sister, brother, and I were welcomed with open hearts and arms. No pretense, prior expectations even after many years apart…just pure joy, love, and a feeling of being instantly comfortable.  Sleep comes easily even after staying up late into the evenings reminiscing and catching up on current events in each of our personal lives. I feel loved unconditionally and safe. I knew I would not be judged or criticized for the words that freely flowed within the safe walls of their home.

And that’s the way it is when I step into the presence of God as I read his Word or pray. He’s always there, available, with a listening ear. God calls me his friend. I am special because he made me this way.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else…God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring” (Acts 17:24–25, 27–28).

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