The Value of a Hug

It’s been proven that babies need to be touched in order to be healthy. Even if they are well fed and kept clean, they might not survive if they don’t have loving hands to embrace them. We all need to feel that touch that says, “I love you,” or “I accept you,”or “You are important to me.”

A little over a year ago I had the privilege of going to a particular foreign country. I felt so overwhelmed with the great need in this place. I asked God what I could do, being only one person. I felt like God told me to give value to every child and woman by giving them a warm and loving smile. It was amazing to see most of these precious people respond back with a beautiful smile. I felt as though I was able to show them I valued them as a human being. In this particular country there are a lot of poor people that are considered  “untouchable”.

I’ll forever have etched in my memory the night a young girl came up to me and said in her broken English, “Ma’am, could you give me a hug?” I gave her a hug and she squeezed me tight and kept saying, “Thank you ma’am, thank you ma’am.” I hugged her a second time and she said, “No ma’am, you don’t have to hug me a second time.” I thought to myself, oh yes I do!

Until this trip I couldn’t begin to comprehend how a smile or a hug can mean the world to someone. I am a person that smiles a lot and I’m also a hugger. Until I met this little girl, I’d never realized the value of a hug.

A few months ago I was in a different country. I was smiling at people as we drove past them in the streets and a man stuck out his tongue at me. Wow, it hurt my heart. I wasn’t expecting this kind of response. He had a deep look of pain and possibly hatred in his eyes. As the old saying goes, “Hurting people hurt people.” It makes you wonder what kind of life he had.

I am determined to do my best to show value to people wherever I go. I will freely give smiles, words of affirmation, and hugs wherever and whenever appropriate. I hope you will do the same.