Today is Hug A Bear Day.

Maybe you don’t want to admit it. Maybe you think that you are too old for such things, or maybe you think that you’re the only one who still has something soft and cuddly to hold on to during a storm. But let’s be honest. If someone were to search underneath your bed or to look under your pillow or hunt through the back corners of your closet, that person might just discover a frayed, torn piece of blanket, or a one-eyed stuffed animal with one of its limbs just barely hanging on.

Like Linus’s faithful blanket, this well-worn and well-loved object has been there for you through all sorts of situations. It was “Teddy” that helped you get through those terrible thunderstorms. You clung to “Bunny” when you were traveling to your new home. It was “Blankie” that comforted you on those long afternoons when you were sick and Mom couldn’t be by your side.

We all have those moments in our lives when we need to feel secure. We need to know that someone is with us when we feel all alone; that someone is there to comfort us when we are frightened or anxious about facing something new. We want someone there to comfort us when we are feeling down.

The good news is that we have someone like that in our lives 24-7. Jesus is there whenever we need him, wherever we are, in whatever situation we find ourselves. Listen to these words Jesus spoke to his disciples: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” I am with you always. We need never fear being alone or being scared or being abandoned. Jesus is with us. Always.

That’s the best security blanket ever.

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

To Do

Go ahead, hug a bear—or a blankie or a bunny, or whatever cuddly thing you cherish—today! But remember where you find your real security.

Also on this day

1893—The state of Colorado granted women the right to vote.

1944—President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first person to win a fourth term as president.

1965—The Pillsbury Doughboy® debuted in television commercials.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.