I’m not sure who said this but I believe there is truth in it; “Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tide and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”
The other day a saw a touching thing in the foyer of our church. One of our ladies was knelt down hugging her boy. I said; “Is he hurt?” She said; “No he just likes it when I hug him.” Smart mom.
In a conversation with a well-known Christian psychologist a few years ago I picked up an interesting piece of advice. He said; “Sometimes when a child is misbehaving and you don’t really know why, a good thing to do is just to take a hold of the child and hold them. Embrace them with a firm hold and keep holding them until they struggle to be free then let them go. Often they will skip along on their contented way.”
I don’t know for sure what theory of human behavior that advice is based on but when I heard it, it rang true in my heart. Some people just need a hug from time to time. They crave the love and attention of others. They don’t need it all the time, but if they need it, they need it. When they get it they can be on their merry way with their little emotional gas tank on “full” again.
I’m sure there is some truth to this, because it is true of me. So if you ever see me misbehaving or making a general nuisance of myself don’t get mad at me that will just make things worse. Just give me a hug and I’ll be on my merry way.