And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; John 14:16

One day when my children were very young, I became ill at home. They watched in fear as their mother slumped to the floor, unconscious. An ambulance was called, and I was revived. Before taking me to the hospital I called my children to me and asked each of them to go into my room and to take a teddy bear off my bed (even then I had teddy bears everywhere). I asked them to hold tight to that teddy bear and to know that I had hugged and kissed that bear. It would be like having me there to hug and kiss them. They were to take comfort in that bear until I returned.

I spent a week in the hospital. The first day my family brought me my own special teddy bear. They had each hugged and kissed it. I held on to through sleep, through tests, through visits. It never left my side. It was my special comfort.

Then, many years later, I received a call that my husband had died of a massive heart attack. During the difficult days of making the arrangements, of the visitation and the funeral I held on, once again, to a beloved teddy bear. I had received one from him just a couple of months earlier. It was from Helzberg’s and had a sweater that read “ I AM LOVED “. For this difficult period of time in my life, it was my comforter.

Before His death on the cross Jesus tried to tell the disciples He would be leaving them. John 14 tells how Jesus explained He would be leaving. He told them He would be preparing a place for them and that they would be able to join him. He promised them that His father would send a comforter to them, to “bring to your remembrance these things I have said” (John 14:26)

God knew we would need comfort and so when Jesus would no longer be here physically on this earth, He provided us with The Holy Spirit. In John 14:18 Jesus tells His disciples “I will not leave you comfortless” and in verse 27 “my peace I give to you”.

Just like my children and I found comfort, peace and memories of each other through a small teddy bear, we have the comfort and guidance of our wonderful Lord and Savior through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within our hearts. My teddy bear may get dirty, worn and torn, but My Father’s love endures through His comforter, the Holy Spirit “……that He may abide with you forever…….for He dwells with you and shall be in you” (verses 16 and 17)

I pray you find the comfort of the Lord through His Holy Spirit.