Octopus

Mike and I left Julia one time in her life so Mike could be a groomsman in a wedding in Northern California. We were only gone for two days. Mike's parents offered to take care of Julia. For months I anticipated what it would be like to be away from my baby for so long. I knew she'd be just fine with PoPo and Grandpa but I wasn't so sure that I would be okay.

In the airport on the way home we picked out a stuffed octopus to give her when we reunited. When our family came to pick us up from the airport, I jumped in the backseat and immediately snuggled with Julia. Mike was in the front seat and Julia started saying, "Daddy, hold you. Daddy, hold you." She couldn't wait to be snuggled by Daddy too. We were all so happy to be together again.

Octopus got thrown in a toy bin and we forgot about him. But a couple months later I pulled him back out and said, "Julia, remember Octopus? She looked at the stuffed toy and said, "Came back. Came back." She was remembering that that is the toy we gave her when we came back home to her. From then on, Octopus had to join Bunny, Bear and Elephant in her crib each night. It was her reminder that if Mommy and Daddy ever left, we would come back.

Jesus, I need an octopus right now. I want to believe we will have a great reunion one day, and that I'll see my Jules again. But that reality can feel so hard to grasp.

I wonder what my octopus can be. Perhaps it is the longing itself. Every time our hearts yearn for that reunion, maybe it is a sign that the future reunion is indeed real.

"The whole creation waits breathless with anticipation for the revelation of God's sons and daughters...We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free. We were saved in hope...if we hope for what we don't see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:19, 23-25