To Side Hug Or Fully Embrace
I’ve recently learned that the Christian side hug is an actual thing. Right! Who knew? Apparently a Christian side hug is hugging a person from the side as to avoid touching the front of your bodies together thus eliminating any temptation an actual hug might bring.
Pause for effect…
Well, The Side Hug blog was named as such for a completely different reason. While walking along with my husband my momentum was interrupted as my husband stopped to say hello to someone he knew. I was briefly introduced to said person and received the side hug that a new acquaintance might. The conversation continued on for a minute or so before another man came up with his wife and made the same introduction. Only this time, said person fully embrace the man’s wife. Say what! As the five of us stood there speaking to each other I couldn’t help but be taken back by the situation.
What was it about this other person that welcomed a full embrace? What vibe was I putting out that said, “whoa there buddy, I’m only worthy of a side hug?” Was it her appearance? Was her smile friendlier, warmer or more inviting than mine? Was she somehow more worthy of the welcome? Maybe, maybe not, but that is certainly what I took away from that encounter.
After that, I got to thinking, we are all worthy of a full embrace. How we love and the kindness we show must not be based on the status or forward movement that a new found relationship might bring. Is that a realistic expectation in the world we live in? No, probably not. But we can rest easy knowing that to God our status is all the same. Your worth holds equal value to mine. God doesn’t hug us from the side; He opens his arms nice and wide making sure to embrace us from the top of our heads to the tips of our toes. We are fully engulfed in his love.
The good news is that the side hug that I received that day didn’t lower the value that I hold in myself. Rather it reinforced what I already know to be true. My worth is not found in other peoples actions. It’s not found in the value that other people place on me. It is not found in anyone or anything other than God and who he says I am. I am loved and accepted. I am good and kind. I am the daughter of God Almighty and because of that I get to live freely knowing that I am 100% worthy of a full embrace.
We are all worthy and we will all have moments like this where the people in this world (whom mirror your humanness) will refuse to or simply can’t see the gold that lines our hearts. They won’t see the worth or your friendship a conversation or time spent with you. And guess what? That’s ok because God does. He craves a relationship with you on the deepest level. He wants to have conversation with you. He wants to spend time in your presence. He knows you to your core and continues to pursue you with a full embrace. Does this mean that you write the other humans in your life off who don’t see the worth you hold? Absolutely not; it does mean that we get to fully embrace them reinforcing the worth we know that they hold. We get to lead others to God in a way that shows off who He is. We get to fully embrace others the way that God fully embraces us. We get to love.
Photo Cred: Shalom Mwenesi
