Sharing His Love

The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. —Numbers 6:24–26

I don't remember exactly how, or why, I started doing the following. When our four children were young back in the 1990's, I began tucking them in with a blessing using the sign of the cross. To Orthodox readers, this may not seem out of the ordinary. However, I was Protestant at the time.

Making the sign of the cross is not a normal Protestant action. The Lutheran church and other liturgical-based denominations use it during services, performed by the pastor. I remember in the Lutheran church at the end of the service the pastor gives a blessing, like Numbers 6, while making the sign of the cross towards the congregation prior to departure. After I started attending the Orthodox Church, I had one of those "ah-ha" moments, one of many, that my using the sign of the cross in the bedtime blessing was like a desire to be "home" in the Orthodox Church — although I knew almost nothing about it!

As I say the blessing, I touch their face in the sign of the cross. I have been known to give the blessing to my nieces and nephews while babysitting them. And now, I am delighted to have three granddaughters to whom I can give this blessing.

Let's see if I can explain in words! Here's the breakdown of the blessing with the actions done while the words are being said:

"May the Lord bless you and keep you" — lightly touching the forehead and the chin.

"May His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you" — while touching the right, outside cheek of the child's face over the nose and touching their left, outside cheek.

"And may He grant you peace forever and ever. Amen." — lightly going down both sides of their face, from the temples and tracing down to the chin.

I hope that the gentle, almost tickling nature of a light touch helped them focus, take in the words, and go to sleep in peace. They always have a sweet smile. Truly, this bedtime ritual is my hope and prayer for all of my loved ones — that they may find the Peace that God provides. The peace, love, and grace that surpasses all understanding.

When I am blessed to spend time with my Scottish granddaughters (ages 8, 6, and 2), it's not nightly that I give them a blessing. Our daughter and son-in-law have lovely bedtime routines with them and they fall asleep peacefully knowing they are loved. The times I have given them blessings seem to leave an impact in a good way. During their recent visit here to America, my son-in-law came down several times saying the girls wanted Nana to give them a blessing. That warms my heart.

I do have to tell you, in the ways of kids, they give each other blessings now! And, you know, how words get jumbled sometimes.... Here's how the just-turned-6-year-old says the blessing: "May the Lord bless you and keep you, face shine upon you, and grant you all your wishes!" Haha, you gotta love it.

I hope my little vignette helps you as you spread God's love to others in your unique way. It's the simple things that can help show His love, grace, and peace to others — a smile, a kind word, a good deed. No doubt, working on our individual relationships with God and praying to Him about loved ones, friends, coworkers, and the world are impactful.

Making the sign of the cross has become so much more than rote ritual to me. It's full of meaning, love, and prayer. I will leave it to our spiritual leaders to explain more fully.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. —St. Paul, Ephesians 1:2

In the Love of Christ,

Dana (Paisia)

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