XOXO
Every year at Christmastime, Ray and I receive a Christmas card from his English cousins, the children of Ray’s mother’s brother. Even though we have only met them once, the card is always signed with the affectionate English symbol XOXO, which stands for hugs and kisses. After all, we’re family.
For some reason, I was particularly fascinated by the kissing camels rock formation at Garden of the Gods. Can’t you just imagine Mr. Camel kissing Mrs. Camel?
Maybe you can see it better in this close up.
While I think it’s fun to imagine kissing camels, I know that affection is crucial to the human heart and soul, especially the affection of our physical families. The Bible speaks of it again and again.
- Isaac asked his son for a kiss. Genesis 27:26
- Jacob kissed his wife Rachel. Genesis 29:11
- Laban embraced and kissed his nephew Jacob. Genesis 29:13
- Esau ran to meet his brother Jacob, embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him; and these brothers wept. Genesis 33:4
- Joseph kissed all of his brothers when he saw them again many years after they had sold him into slavery, and he wept on them. Genesis 45:15
- Moses kissed his father-in-law (Exodus 18:7).
- Naomi kissed her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. Ruth 1:9
Ray’s English cousins send us the only kind of hugs and kisses they can — little x’s and o’s — and we cherish them. But for those folks whom we can hug and kiss for real, let’s go for it. I appreciate every little emoji I get, but a real hug and kiss from my family? I’ll choose that every time.
Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue,
but in deed and truth.
1 John 3:18