He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretch out its roots to the stream. // Jeremiah 17:8

Her little legs wrapped around my waist as she nestled into my lap, sharing a swing with me on a lazy, late summer day.

"Can you have my autograph so you'll always remember me?" she mournfully asked as she cuddled closer, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh dear heart!" I said. "How could I forget YOU? But you are a big girl going to kindergarten soon, and big girls don't need nannies. But I could never, ever forget you."

Do you have a "swing set moment" of your own, friend? Can you close your eyes and think back to a time when you felt the most safe, loved, and cherished? Take a minute to allow your mind and heart to drift back to that memory. What made it so special? What sounds, touches, and smells made you feel the way you did?

This sweet memory, friends, is just a taste of the intimate union that Jesus desires for you and for me. Jesus is the stream by which we can sink in our roots and find space to breathe. He is the One we can cuddle close to and have the firm assurance that He is worthy of all of our trust. Whatever your cross is today—the start of something new or a pesky feeling of inadequacy or the stumbling block of sin—let's ask Jesus to help us stretch out our arms to Him. Let us ask that we might feel loved, safe, and cherished in His embrace.

[bctt tweet="He is worthy of all of our trust. // Karen Schultz " username="blessedisshe__"]

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