As she sat working on her homework alone, Star didn't feel very loved. It was a holiday weekend, and all her friends had plans. Megan's parents were taking her to a waterpark. Emma was practicing tennis all weekend with her dad. Mila and her siblings were having fun playing on their new trampoline.
Star's mom was working in her home office. She didn't have a dad around or any siblings to spend time with. All she had was homework she had saved for the weekend, just to give herself something to do.
Star frowned at the paper in front her. Why had her teacher assigned her the word love to write about? She didn't know anything about love.
She picked up her phone and called Mila. She had to convince her friend to take a break from the trampoline so they could talk. "How am I supposed to write about love?" she asked. "No one loves me."
Mila snorted. "No one? What about me? And Emma and Megan?"
"That's…different." Star hadn't thought of her friends as she was considering the topic.
"What about your mom?" Mila asked. "She loves you."
Star glanced toward her mom's office. "She doesn't spend time with me."
"Because she's busy," Mila said. "She's busy because she loves you and needs to work to take care of you." She sighed. "What about God, Star? Aren't you forgetting that He loves you?"
Star twisted her hair around her finger. Maybe she had forgotten God. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like it."
"Maybe not," Mila said. "But He really does, Star. Like we learned at church, His love is bigger than any human love. Jesus died on the cross so you could live with Him forever. What love is bigger than that?"
Star nodded slowly. "You're right."
"You don't need to go on a trip or get amazing gifts in order to be loved," Mila said. "But, Star? I really am loving the new trampoline and I would like to get back to it. Since your mom is working, want me to ask my mom to give you a ride over so you can try it out?"
Star's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Really," Mila said. "Because I love you." She laughed. "Don't forget how much God loves you too, Star."
–Emily Acker
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Have you had times when you felt like you were not loved at all by anyone? God’s love is greater than the love of any human—He loves you so much that He sent His Son to save you so you could spend eternity with Him, and He promises to always love you and take care of you. If you think about all the people He’s put in your life, you’ll probably realize you’re loved by many others too.
TODAY'S KEY VERSE: John 15:9 (KJV)
As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (NKJV)