Lori was out of town, and I had agreed to watch the grandkids for the short period of time between when Madi had to leave, and Eli’s ride to school arrived. Then I would take Emmie to her daycare. It was early in the morning, and I was anxious to get back to my work. Before I knew it, Eli was out the door. It was icy, so I carried Emmie to my car in the below-freezing temperature. As I struggled to get Emmie in my car, I asked myself why I had agreed to this. That was when Emmie put her arm around my neck and said, “I love my PopPop.”
I no longer wondered why.
It only took four words, but what a difference they made. I was ready to sign up for daily kid duty.
I revisited that moment several times during the day.
“I love my PopPop.”
Each time I felt warm and cuddly inside.
That one sentence was her love note to me and, therefore, sweeter than honey and more precious than gold.
Sometimes you only need four words to reassure you that someone loves you and that you can stay steady and keep going.
Four words echo from my past and comfort me today.
I can still hear my dad’s voice, calling me on my cell phone as I’m traveling alone in my car, motoring down some back road in southeast Texas, about 2 a.m.
“Dad?” I asked, “that you?”
“David, where are you?”
Nothing profound, just four words that reminded me how much my dad cared about me.
Then, there’s my older brother, Mark, calling me on my way to church, knowing Dad was no longer with us to hear his regular calls at those times in our lives when we expected him to call. “Whatcha preaching on, ‘Punk’?” (“Punk” was his nickname to me since I was a little kid.)
I knew my older brother cared enough to ask Dad’s Sunday morning question.
It’s always a bright spot in my day when one of my kids calls me to say four words: “I love you, Dad.”
Best of all is when I hear these four words from my wife: “I love you, Sweetie.”
I find four words scattered through Scripture.
“Do not be afraid” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
“Rejoice in the Lord” (Philippians 4:4).
“Trust in the Lord” (Proverbs 3:5).
“The Lord is good” (Psalm 145:9).
“I am with you” (Matthew 28:20).
Some of my favorite sayings have only four words:
“Don’t worry, be happy.”
“Collect moments, not things.”
“You are not alone.”
“This, too, shall pass.”
“Live in the now.”
“Keep an open mind.”
Whether the four words are wise old saying or the words of people I dearly love, they will all pale in comparison to the words I fully expect to hear when I at last reach heaven’s gates. Those four words will encapsulate and exceed all the words spoken this side of eternity, for they will be the first words I believe I will hear on the other side: “Welcome home, my child.”
Yes, home indeed.
In just four words.