Ten Hundred Hugs

One of the things I love about working with children is their uninhibited affection and enthusiasm. While subbing at day camp today I didn’t even try to keep count of all the hugs I received and gave. =)

At the very end of the day, there was one last little boy waiting to be picked up by his mom. When she finally arrived, he ran to greet her with a big hug. As they were leaving, he spontaneously turned around, ran back to me, with arms wide open, calling, “Huggy, huggy!”

“Oh, I love hugs!” I answered. “Here’s a ‘have-a-great-weekend hug’!” I hugged the little boy goodbye.

Scampering back to his mom, he exclaimed, “I have ten hundred hugs!”

“Wow! That’s a lot of hugs!” I replied. I couldn’t help but smile. “You’ll make a lot of people happy with that many hugs!”

I’m reminded of Jesus’ words, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).