Two Steaks and a Side of Redemption

A Little Girl’s Insistence
Three years ago today, Rich (who is now my husband) and I went on our “first date.” He took me to a steakhouse. We were seated at a nice quiet booth in the corner. In the adjacent booth, a young family was enjoying dinner. The little girl, who was preciously beautiful and probably no more than five years old, knelt on the booth and popped her head around to our side. “Jesus love you!” she exclaimed.

Rich and I laughed. “He loves you too,” he replied to her.

No more than a minute later, she was at it again: “Jesus loves you!” Again, Rich responded, “He loves you too.”

Within two minutes she repeated her words: “Jesus loves you!” And Rich replied, “He loves you too.”

We were captivated. Her parents were apologetic. Despite their gentle-but-firm discipline, she persisted, insistently, from the time we sat down until the time her family left the restaurant. Thus, the constant refrain, “Jesus loves you!” provided the soundtrack for our “first date.”

We told her embarrassed parents that it was okay. It was more than okay.

We had chosen a wrong path. We’d been through a season of turmoil, pain, and upheaval. We had inflicted hurts on others. Finally, we decided to put our past behind us, make a fresh start, and begin anew. We would accept the consequences of our actions, together.

And it was on this particular night–our “first date”–that the child would not be restrained from repeating, over and over: “Jesus loves you!”

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today
nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from
God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing
in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is
revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)