A mother of eight children was once asked if she had any favorites.

She thought for a moment and said: "Favorites? Yes, I have favorites. I love the one who is sick until he is well again. I love the one who is in trouble until he is safe again. And I love the one who is farthest away until he comes home."

I have read that a dozen times. It’s not a description of perfect children. It is a description of a love that moves toward need — that finds its way to exactly the place where it is most required. The sick one. The troubled one. The one who has put the most distance between themselves and home.

The Reverend Donald Strobe once wrote about this kind of love: "God is a Divine Parent whose love never stops, a Parent whose love will never give up. You may stop loving God, but God will never stop loving you. You may run away from God — but you will soon find that your legs are too short."

Your legs are too short. I love that. Not as a threat — as a promise. You cannot outrun this love. You cannot put enough distance between yourself and God to make the love stop reaching.

Jonah tried. He bought a ticket for the farthest place he could imagine. And God was already there — not waiting to punish, but to redirect. To bring him home.

If you are the one who is sick, or in trouble, or farthest away today — this love is already moving toward you. You don't have to find your way back on your own. The love comes to meet you.

Prayer: Loving God, we thank you that your love moves toward us — especially in the places where we feel most lost, most far, most unworthy of being found. Remind us today that our legs are too short to outrun your grace. Meet us where we are. Bring us home. Amen.

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