God's armpit...

We have this ODD phenomenon going on in this household... every time Hannah snuggles under John's arm (usually with her head wedged in his armpit) she falls SOUNDLY asleep. I am not kidding this girl can be running around hopped up on sugar one second and the second she crawls into the armpit, she is OUT.  I have joked with John that the smell of his armpit must be pretty potent to knock her out like that, but the truth is in her daddy's arms, Hannah just feels so safe she immediately calms down and falls asleep.  The phenomenon happened in public recently. We were at the wedding of my lovely step-daughter Amanda. It was getting LATE and Hannah was getting CRABBY. She laid down on the ground in the middle of the entrance to the dance floor and wouldn't get up. When I picked her up and moved her, she just started CRYING. Then daddy stepped in. He took Hannah in his arms and took her out on the dance floor. After just a few songs, not only had the crying subsided, but she literally fell SOUND asleep right there on the dance floor in the safety of daddy's arms.

As I sat there observing this adorable image my thoughts were drawn to Heaven. You know this last week has been a bit tumultuous. I have felt like I was hopped up on sugar and running around like crazy. Between the chaos of getting ready for this HUGE wedding and the shock of adapting to the concept that Hannah needed surgery, I was disjointed, jittery and a little out of sorts. I realized that I too have access to the safety of my Father's arms. I realized that in God's armpit I can find comfort, peace, and rest. Now every time I feel those butterflies of stress rising up, I get this image in my head:

Photograph by The Salty Peanut 6/18/11

It was PERFECTLY captured by Amanda's AMAZING photographer, and it reminds me that instead of lying down in the middle of the entrance to the dance floor, crying and kicking and screaming, I should just climb into my Daddy's arms and let His peace and comfort envelope me.