My sweet daughter has dragged this teddy bear around for 7 of her 9 years of life. Peanut has been restuffed, redressed, and has been stitched up more times than I can count. Lydia has much nicer stuffed animals, but don't you dare try telling either one this. I found her quietly weeping the other night while clinging to Peanut. When I asked her what was wrong, she showed me where another hole had formed in his fur. "I don't want him to fall apart!" She cried. It broke her heart that he was broken. As I placed the last stitch at his elbow today, that scraggy bear whispered a lesson to me. Peanut may look like an insignificant, severely worn-out character, but through Lydia's eyes he is as important to her as he has always been. God's love for us is just as unconditional and steadfast. No matter how worn out life makes us or how insignificant the world makes us feel, God wants to hold us and weep over our wounds and He desires to mend our brokenness. Lydia giggled and clapped her hands when I finished mending Peanut. Her joy overflowed with him being fixed again. God rejoices when His beloved ones are healed. All we gotta do is allow Him. Never think you're too far gone, too wounded, or too insignificant to be loved and healed by God. "He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28