Needing a Hug

“I need a hug, Teacha!” This is how one of my kindergarten children greeted me every morning and of course his teacher obliged. That little boy is now all grown up with children of his own but I still remember his words. I hope life works out well for him and he gets his quota (or more) of daily hugs.

That’s one of the things I miss about teaching–the many hugs that every kindergarten teacher gets every day. They were given freely by little ones who loved their teacher and probably everyone else. Hugs are something we all need.

Generally, my kindergarteners gave me a hug as they came in the door each morning. Sometimes, it was a good-bye hug before getting on the bus or sometimes during the day, for no reason at all, a five-year old would run up to me and give me a warm squeeze.

Now, who could feel down with about a million hugs a day? My grandchildren and son are good huggers but in their absence, I turn to the Bible and remember some favorite picker-upper verses: “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:).

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”  (Philippians 4:13).

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help” (Psalm 121:1).

“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3).

“Fear not: for I am with thee”  (Isaiah 43:5).

And we need to be kind, kind to others and kind to ourselves. Does it ever seem you have this evil little voice whispering in your ear that you’ll never do this or that, that everything is hopeless and lost, and what’s the use anyway? That is definitely not the voice of a hugger and we need to tell it to be gone! Then, fill that void with positive remembrances, Bible verses, prayers, even a song or two. And, positive words!

Hugs! We all need them.

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