Emphasis Preaching Journal

Anne was a battered child. In her first five years she experienced abuse, neglect, and finally abandonment. During these years she was subjected to her parents' drunkenness and fighting. She did not eat regularly and most of the time that was out of a tin can after she learned how to operate the can opener. When she and her brothers and sisters were finally taken by the welfare department, she was covered with sores.
She was placed in a foster home where she knew the security of a regular schedule for the first time. Gradually she gained weight and began slowly to respond to gestures of love and affection. The foster mother reported that the little girl developed a curious habit. She would be out playing with other children but every few minutes she would go to the back kitchen door, open it, and see if her "mother" was still there. Reassured, she would return to play, only to repeat the same process many times throughout the day.
It is a parable of a larger truth; namely, that many people feel the need of frequent assurance of One who knows, understands, and cares. It was a man who had been blind for many years who wrote:
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee.
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
(George Matheson)
-- Meddock