I LIKE ME BEST WHEN I'M WITH YOU
As a part of an assignment for a doctoral thesis, a college student spent a year with a group of Navajo Indians on a reservation in the Southwest. As he did his research, he lived with one family, sleeping in their hut, eating their food, working with them and generally living the life of a 20th century Indian.
A close friendship developed between the student and the grandmother. They spent a great deal of time sharing a friendship that was meaningful to each, yet unexplainable to someone else. In spite of the language difference, they shared the common language of love and understood each other.
When it was time for him to return to the campus and write his thesis, the tribe held a going-away celebration. It was marked by sadness, since the young man had become close to the whole village and all would miss him. As he prepared to get up into the pickup truck and leave, the old grandmother came to tell him goodbye. With tears streaming from her eyes, she placed her hands on either side of his face, looked directly into his eyes and said, "I like me best when I’m with you."
Isn’t that the way we feel in the presence of Jesus? He brings out the best in us. We learn to see ourselves as worthy and valuable when we are in His presence. The hurts, the cares, the disappointments of our life are behind us when we look in His eyes and realise the depth of His love. Our self-esteem no longer depends on what we have done or failed to do; it depends only on the value that He places on us.
(From a sermon by Andy Barnard "The Hidden Commandment" 12/27/2008)