Belonging

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. —1 John 3:1 (ESV)

So what would you like for Christmas?” my father-in-law asked my seven-year-old son, Isaiah. “Come tell me.”
My little boy stood beside his grandfather’s chair. He smiled at Grandpa and then glanced at his own daddy and me. “Well, I want a runner sled,” he said. “More than anything. But I’m not sure it’s okay.” He looked down and scuffed his wool-clad toes over the carpet. We’d been to the hardware store the day before, and Isaiah had fallen for an old-fashioned wooden sled with metal runners. His daddy said it was an accident waiting to happen. But Grandpa’s grin stretched wide. He leaned close to my son.

“I knew a little boy who used to have one,” he whispered. “In fact, that little boy’s sled is still in the garage.”
Isaiah’s green eyes went round. His daddy, across the room, smiled in surprise.

“If it’s okay, we’ll go get it,” Grandpa said.

My husband, Lonny, nodded. Grandpa started to push up from the chair. But Isaiah stood still. “Grandpa, you’ve kept that sled a long time,” he said. “Are you sure you want to give it to me?”

My father-in-law reached out and pulled Isaiah to his lap. His arms wrapped around my son. “Well, you’re my grandson,” he said. “Aren’t ya?” Isaiah, his brothers, Lonny, and I have spent many sunlit winter afternoons sledding at the park near our home. But even more than flying down that snow-covered hill, cheeks stained red and smiles shining from the soul, Isaiah loves to tell the story of the day the sled became his.

“And then Grandpa sat me on his lap,” he says. “And he said, ‘You belong to me.’”

Lord, You created us to belong. Thank You that I am Yours. Amen.

~ Shawnelle Eliasen

Digging Deeper: Psalm 100:3; Isaiah 43:1; Romans 14:8

Excerpted with permission from Daily Guideposts 2018, copyright Guideposts.

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