I greatly enjoyed watching this year’s Olympic Games in London. And while it’s always a treat seeing athletes at the top of their game competing, perhaps my favorite part of the Olympics has been watching the parents of these athletes. During the gymnastics competition, I could feel the emotion of Aly Raismann’s parents who remained on the edge of their seats, their eyes glued to their daughter, unblinking. It seemed that every move she took, they were right there with her – rising and falling, jerking to the left or right, holding their breath in anticipation. They were so invested in what she was doing that it was impossible for them to sit calmly, passively. If her routine finished cleanly, they heaved a sigh of relief while simultaneously erupting into cheers. If her routine went poorly, the pain she felt was plastered on their faces.

As I watched this playing out before me with many Olympic athletes and their parents, I couldn’t help but think of God and how He watches us. Many people have a concept of God as a traffic cop who is hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting for us to mess up so that He can issue a citation, reminding us of our wrong-doing and making us pay the price. However, I believe this could not be further from the truth. To me, God is much more like these Olympic athlete parents. He is watching over us with eager anticipation. Rooting for us, cheering us on. He is not a passive observer who is unconcerned with our circumstances and the minutiae of our lives, but rather a loving Father whose heart and soul is completely wrapped up in us. He is 100% invested in every move that we make. He wants to see us be our best – and when we achieve that, He rejoices with us.

But when we mess up – when the pressures of life make us lose our balance, when we have a false start, when we don’t have enough endurance to finish the race, when every shot we take falls short or out of bounds, when our dreams seem to be crashing down around us – He feels our pain as if it were His own. He feels that pain and His only desire is to comfort us. To wrap us up in His arms and remind us that we are still loved. We are still special. We are still His.

And nothing will ever change that.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. – Romans 8:38