Hugs

I really like hugs.

I don’t hug much...but would like to do it more often.

I think it began in middle school when I thought it wasn’t cool for guys to hug.

NOTE: This is normal.

After I finished that phase I slowly moved into my high school phase where it was awkward to hug girls because none of them knew I existed.

NOTE: Hugging air does not have the same emotional effect as hugging another human being. NOTE²: I’m not sure if this is normal or not.

From then until about 3 years ago, I went through the phase where it was awkward because of my size. At 6’1” I still struggle to understand why people insist on hugging me around the neck. This is a difficult and an awkward task for me. I’m forced to bend over at a strange angle so someone can reach my neck all the while reaching my arms out under theirs and trying to reciprocate the hug. Let’s just be rational about our hugs folks. I’m taller than you. You go underneath and I’ll go above. It’s just better this way.

NOTE: If you are larger than 6’1” then I will go underneath.

Then I went to graduate school where I was forbidden to hug. Yes, that’s correct, NO HUGGING ALLOWED! Ok, at least not in my professional career. The faculty quickly informed us that hugging was a breach of client/therapist boundaries and that therapists had been sued for hugging their clients. I decided to go the extra mile and just not touch anyone. There’s one client, a mentally retarded 9 year old girl who insists on giving me a “Big ‘ol papa bear hug” every time I see her and saying, “See you later alligator” as she picks me up off the ground before leaving.

NOTE: If I get sued by a mentally retarded 9 year old girl then I have larger problems than a lawsuit, like my friends who will make fun of me for the rest of my life....for getting sued by a mentally retarded 9 year old girl...for hugging.

A hug can say:

I love you

I’m sorry

I’m hurting

I’m excited

I’m happy for you

Hello

Goodbye

You’re about to get lucky

I would like to get lucky

Thank you

Please

I missed you

Etc.

Etc.

Etc.

There’s something about human touch that just makes you feel warm inside. There’s a connection when you can feel another person and they can feel you. Hospital workers say again and again that when someone is near death sometimes their last sense to go is touch. They can still feel a pat on the hand or a kiss on the forehead. Human touch is a powerful force.

When I think out the power of touch I think about Jesus and when he healed the man with leprosy.

Leprosy as we all remember from our historically accurate summer VBS skits was when a guy from church spread white quilt batting over his arms and rubbed hot dog condiments into it in order to make it look as disgusting as possible. As real as a portrayal as that was, actual leprosy involves nerve damage to the skin to the point where the skin forms lesions and rots away sometimes even causing whole body parts to autoamputate.

A leper was ostracized and forced to live outside of town apart from his or her family and friends for fear of further spread of the disease. You had to constantly be reminded of your illness and loneliness by yelling “Unclean” Unclean! when passersby came along the road so that they knew you were a leper and could stay away. This disease was not only physically debilitating, but also emotionally destructive as well.

Back to Jesus. So here’s a man in front of him who has first of all done something completely socially unacceptable. He is in Jesus’ presence. As this leper walks up in the middle of a crowd and through tears begs Jesus to heal him, you can imagine the screams and shrieks of those jumping away from him. What does Jesus do though? Jesus touches the man and says, “I am willing to heal you. Be clean.”

Jesus touches him.

A leper

Could Jesus have just as easily done this miracle without touching him? Of course. But Jesus knew that there was something about being touched. Jesus knew that this man had likely not been touched in weeks, months, years, possibly even decades. Jesus not only gave this man his health back, but gave him something more. Jesus showed him love.

Love

After all, love is ultimately what touch is all about right?

Handshakes

Pats on the back

Noogies

Slaps on the butt (for football players only please)

Oh yeah, and hugs.

Go hug somebody.

NOTE TO THE READER: Aside from clients (Except for mentally retarded 9 year old girls) and lepers (I am not the LORD) I am currently accepting hugs of all shapes and sizes the next time we meet in person.