I hugged my daughter yesterday for the first
time in over three months. It was a long hug! We have always hugged
whenever we say goodbye, and it has felt strange not being able to do
that for all that time. You could say that we are a hugging family! Now
that we can have a "social circle", I'm looking forward to hugging my
son and his wife and our grandson when they come to spend a few days of
their summer vacation with us in a couple of weeks.
It seems like such a simple thing, but hugs
matter. Hugging shows someone how much we care. Hugs are good for us. A
hug can make us feel so much better! We don't necessarily have to say
anything. A hug says it all! According to
Wikipedia:
A hug … is a form of nonverbal
communication. Depending on culture, context, and relationship, a hug
can indicate familiarity, love, affection, friendship, brotherhood, or
sympathy. A hug can indicate support, comfort, and consolation,
particularly where words are insufficient. A hug usually demonstrates
affection and emotional warmth, sometimes arising from joy or happiness
when reunited with someone or seeing someone absent after a long time. …
Hugging has been proven to have health benefits. One study has shown
that hugs increase levels of oxytocin and reduce blood pressure. Based
on significant research indicating that a 20-second-or-longer hug
releases oxytocin, Leo Buscaglia encourages people to hug for 21 days
consecutively and to have each day a hug that lasts for a minimum of 21
seconds. He recommends "getting lost in the hug", encouraging people to
slow down and "use the power of the hug to be fully present in the
moment".
"So he returned home to his
father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced
him, and kissed him. " (Luke 15:20 NLT)
We're all familiar with the story of the
prodigal son. What a wonderful hug that must have been for both the
father and the son!
What Hugging Can Do
It's wondrous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you're blue
A hug can say, "I love you so,"
Or, "I hate to see you go."
A hug is "Welcome back again."
And "Great to see you! Where have you been?"
A hug can soothe a small child's pain
And bring a rainbow after rain.
The hug, there's just no doubt about it —
We scarcely could survive without it!
A hug delights and warms and charms;
It must be why God gave us arms.
- Dean Walley, The Messenger
Sometimes, we just need a hug. Sometimes, it's
all that we need to make us feel better, to feel loved. So, for now, hug
the people in your social circle and hopefully, someday soon, we will be
able to hug those in our church families and our friends as well.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we
thank You for hugs. Wrap Your loving arms around us today, reminding us
that You are always there for us. Surround us with Your loving presence,
reminding us that we are loved, even as we are dealing with the chaos
all around us. Help us to love others as You have loved us. We pray this
in Jesus' name. Amen.
Dee Renaud
Sauble Beach, Ontario, Canada
Reprinted from the
PresbyCan Daily Devotional with the author's permission
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.