Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Today's reading titled Cuddling In was written by Adam Holes.

Daddy, will you read to me?

My daughter asked.

It's not an unusual question for a child to make of a parent,

but my daughter is 11 now. These days, such requests are fewer than they were when she was younger.

Yes, I said happily, and she curled up next to me on the couch. As I read to her, from the

Fellowship of the Ring, she practically melted into me. It was one of

those glorious moments as a parent when we feel perhaps just an inkling of the perfect love our

father has for us and his deep desire for us to cuddle in to his presence and love for us.

I realized in that moment that I'm a lot like my 11-year-old.

Much of the time, I'm focused on being independent. It's so easy to lose touch with God's love for us,

a tender and protective love that Psalm 116 describes as gracious and righteous, full of compassion.

It's a love where, like my daughter, I can curl up in God's lap, at home, in his delight

for me.

Psalm 116, verse 7 suggests that we might need to regularly remind ourselves of God's good love and then crawl up into

his waiting arms. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. And indeed,

he has.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Psalm 116 verses 1 through 7.

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice. He heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me,

I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me.

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