Hasn’t everyone held a baby and felt his tiny fingers curl tightly around one of their own? Babies seem to crave human touching. Often they can be hushed immediately by the familiar touch of their mother. Many mothers know how to soothe a crying child by softly patting his back, or smoothing a fingertip across his eyebrow, or rubbing a thumb across his cheek.

Do we outgrow the need for human touch? When my youngest child was 11, he still sat on my lap occasionally. I remember thinking to myself: I hope he never gets too old to do this. But, he did. In only another year, it was no longer cool to relate to his mother that way. When the children are small, it is so natural to hug them, and kiss them, and tell them how much we love them. Why does it get so difficult when they get older?

In my book “To Comfort a King,” much of the comfort Abishag provides the king is through touch. She massages his aching arms and legs and shoulders. She washes his hair for him. She applies lotions following the baths. She tucks warm blankets close to him.

What happens when the king returns that comfort and touches Abishag? It completes the circle of their friendship, and it becomes a very precious part of their relationship. Is there someone you love who needs your touch?