Blankets

      Every child has his or her favorite security blanket. It's dragged around all day and slept with all night. By the time the child is six or seven years old, the blanket is worn thin and ragged around all the edges. It has mud stains, slobber stains, food stains, and all other sorts of stains. There are holes, both large and small, across the blanket. When the parents insist the blanket be taken away and replaced, it is the hardest thing for their young ears to hear. Their precious blanket has been with them twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as they can remember, and now their parents dare to take it away? For a young child, their parents' actions are near to betrayal. How could they be so heartless to replace something the child cared for so much?
      For one thing, the blanket is among the most comforting things in the world. Blankets are never outgrown. Yes, they might be traded for newer or better ones over the ages, but nearly everyone has a blanket as long as they're alive. Whenever you feel sad, cold, or lonely, it is easy to cuddle with a blanket and cry. People often turn you down when you want comfort from them, but the blanket can never say no.
      Many kids carry their blankets for extra security. In the midst of a fearful experience, they cling to the blanket as if their life depends on it. Security and comfort go hand in hand. Comfort is relaxed and free of anxiety or fear while security provides protection from harm. A security blanket gives the sense of protection; as long as you are holding onto it you will be safe, thereby comforting you.
      On dark and cold nights, it is so wonderful to be able to wrap up in the warmth of a blanket. To feel the softness against your skin and feel the coldness flee your body is to lead you into a state of pure content.
      There's a joke that goes as follows: "When a little girl got home from church, her mother asked her what she learned about. She replies, 'In Sunday school, I learned that God is a quilt.' Puzzled, the mother asks what she means. The little girl says, 'Well, Pastor said God is our Comforter.'"
      In a sense, the little girl was right--God is like a blanket. He provides security and comfort, and never leaves us. Like a blanket, He is with us as we fall asleep so we won't be afraid. We are to take hold of Him, cherish Him, and never let Him go (after all, He will never leave us). He will never say no and will be there to hear us cry. He holds out His arms to us so we can be wrapped in His warm embrace. His unfailing love is our comfort and our security for us to hold on to.

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Verses related to comfort and security:
"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life." Psalm 119:50

"May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant." Psalm 119:76

"I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

"LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:5-8