The importance of touch
I realized one day when I was reading the Bible that Jesus was someone who could be touched.
By those He didn't walk with every day (the woman who touched His hem, and the woman who
washed her feet with her tears and dried them with her hair); and by John, the apostle, when he
leaned back against His Breast and asked Him a question for Peter. As I saw the LORD's
interaction with people which often included a touch of some kind, I realized that I had stopped
touching my older boys as often as I used to when they were young.
So I began to touch my older boys affectionately again. I would rumple their hair when I walked by. I would ask them if there was anything they wanted to talk to me about while putting my arm around their shoulder. At first they didn't seem to know how to take "the new me" and pulled away often. But I kept at them. I tried to touch them at least once every day, if not more.
Then I noticed they were starting to respond and would often initiate a touch with me. Last week I went shopping and my ten year old kept grabbing my arm and slinging it around his waist. Every time I let it drop to pick something off the shelf, he would sling it back around his waist. I was so thankful that I had begun to touch them again. After I learned that touching them was making them feel more secure and loved, I began to notice that they were much more communicative with me. They would look into my eyes and talk to me about what was bothering them, especially since I had begun asking them frequently if they wanted to talk to me about anything.
In the evening I began giving my younger ones "the blessing" which I had learned from reading the book "The Blessing". I would lay my hand on their forehead, look into their eyes, and sing to them, "The LORD bless you and keep you. The LORD make His Face to shine upon you. And be gracious unto you, and be gracious unto you. The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee and grant you peace." When I would finish giving a blessing to each child, my older children would often want a blessing as well. This became a sweet time for me with them. I did not grow up in a family of "touchers". We rarely even hugged one another. I always naturally hugged and touched my babies and younger children affectionately, but it was new to me to do it with my older children. And if felt awkward at first. But as I noticed them change and gravitate more towards me, and want to sit next to me and talk on a deeper level than we had before, I realized how important touch was. And how glad I was that I was learning to be "touchable" like Jesus, no matter what the age of my children.
So I began to touch my older boys affectionately again. I would rumple their hair when I walked by. I would ask them if there was anything they wanted to talk to me about while putting my arm around their shoulder. At first they didn't seem to know how to take "the new me" and pulled away often. But I kept at them. I tried to touch them at least once every day, if not more.
Then I noticed they were starting to respond and would often initiate a touch with me. Last week I went shopping and my ten year old kept grabbing my arm and slinging it around his waist. Every time I let it drop to pick something off the shelf, he would sling it back around his waist. I was so thankful that I had begun to touch them again. After I learned that touching them was making them feel more secure and loved, I began to notice that they were much more communicative with me. They would look into my eyes and talk to me about what was bothering them, especially since I had begun asking them frequently if they wanted to talk to me about anything.
In the evening I began giving my younger ones "the blessing" which I had learned from reading the book "The Blessing". I would lay my hand on their forehead, look into their eyes, and sing to them, "The LORD bless you and keep you. The LORD make His Face to shine upon you. And be gracious unto you, and be gracious unto you. The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee and grant you peace." When I would finish giving a blessing to each child, my older children would often want a blessing as well. This became a sweet time for me with them. I did not grow up in a family of "touchers". We rarely even hugged one another. I always naturally hugged and touched my babies and younger children affectionately, but it was new to me to do it with my older children. And if felt awkward at first. But as I noticed them change and gravitate more towards me, and want to sit next to me and talk on a deeper level than we had before, I realized how important touch was. And how glad I was that I was learning to be "touchable" like Jesus, no matter what the age of my children.
Much love,
Laine
Laine
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