When I was young, my mother told me at least once a day that she loved me “bigger than the whole wide world and more than all the tea in China.”

I thought it was silly and responded with the same sentiment. I also thought she was strange when she opened her prayers with “Abba, Father.”

I finally asked her what that meant and why she said a name of a band while praying. She said she was His (Abba’s) daughter, loved her heavenly Father, and emphasized how great His love for her and hers for Him.

I didn’t think much more of how my mom prayed until I grew older and had children of my own. Now that I am a mom, I often think of the amount of love I have for my three crazy boys and how they could do nothing to take that away.

You see, we don’t think about the unsurmountable love when we think of our relationship with our heavenly Father. We realize it and acknowledge it, but to truly know His love is something we cannot comprehend daily.

Or I can’t at least.

I think of the ways that I screw up and forget to take things to Him and try to handle them on my own. I think of my goals and don’t check to see if they are what our heavenly Father wants for me. I plan towards things selfishly and feel guilt and shame later…sometimes, much later.

But then I see my children and how they can make poor choices, and see the guilt and shame they experience.

I want nothing more than to take it away and hold them tightly.

I want to tell them and show them just how much I love them.

I want the pain and all the negative feelings to disappear.

I feel this must be a piece of what our heavenly Father wants for us too. He must want to hold us close and remind of us of just how greatly we are loved. And how beautiful He thinks we are.

As I close the day with telling my sons that I love them “bigger than the whole wide world and more than all the tea in China” and they yell “China” while laughing before I can finish saying it myself, I think how great I love them. I pray some day they will understand the love of our Abba, Father just a little bit more.

Nidal Pascoe