I have had alot of time to think the past few days. Whether swimming with 4 little boys or laying in my bed in the middle of the night, I have had a zillion thoughts swirling in my head. In everything I have read and all that I have thought about, this verse sticks in my head. I have to say that until now, I have never looked at this verse and thought about what it really means in my life.
Love is patient:
It starts off hitting me right between the eyes. Patience in my personal life is not my strong suit. I have a fear of the unknown. i want to know what is going on and what will happen. Ironically, I can sit with a child for 30 minutes and work on one skill that they need to succeed. Patience is sitting in a room with a sick child, constantly wetting their head with towel to break the fever. Patience is taking the time to explain to my grandfather for the 1,000 time how to work the remote. Patience is praying and waiting for the right child to be chosen for my brother and sister to love as their own.
Love is kind:
Being kind is something I have always done...to those that I like. As humans, it is easier to be kind to those that are kind back. I have to take a moment to think about what this means when I roll my window up at the homeless guy on the street, or to that one child that gets on my nerves the instant he opens his mouth. Am I showing kindness to them? Someone once told me: "Love those who hurt you, for they need it the most" These deserve the same kindness that I give to my friends and family.
Love does not envy, does not boast, and is not proud:
Envy, the big green eyed monster! Being boastful or proud goes along the same lines. I have to admit, I have been envious of others. I dealt with this huge monster when my best friend got engaged. Although I was ecstatic for her, I couldn't help but be slightly envious of her, getting to go through the excitement of a wedding. I had a slight case of the "Why not me, God?" and "When is it my turn?". When we take on these characteristics, I think that it takes the "me" out of our personality and lets us easily slip down the slope to ungratefulness. I am trying to look at the good things in my life, and take the time to be grateful for the MANY blessings that God has given me.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Oh my! The words keep cutting deeper and deeper. Rude, self-seeking, anger, holding grudges... I can relate with all of these. If I am not careful, I can fall prey to the grudge monster. A little boy that is dear to my heart has a true black and white sense of justice. This means that when I accidentally hurt his feelings or he feels that he has been wronged, he will retaliate. As a person that has been wronged before (like all of us) I tend to look at the way to "get back" or retaliate myself. This weekend, I, admittedly, heavily insinuated that I wanted a certain gift back that I had bought for a birthday after I felt I had been wronged. I thought that the gift would give me some gratification or retaliation for my hurt feelings. In truth though, all I felt was sadness. The gift was to be shared with a certain person. It was not the gift that held the meaning, but the time the gift would have allowed us to share.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
No matter what the outcome will be, the truth will always win out. This part of the verse reminds me of the way a child will tell a little lie to get out of being in trouble for writing on the walls or dumping all their toys out of the shelf. This little white lie turns into something huge and the child is now in more trouble due to lying then if they had told the truth. It is hard sometimes to tell the truth when you know that the other person will be so disappointed. But the truth will always prevail and is the straighter path to take. Gossiping is something that I still, to this day, need to work on. Hearing tidbits of information and then telling someone else this "half-truth" can be detrimental to many lives.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres:
Love is your mother and father, lifting you up through your child, telling you that you can accomplish anything. Love is the man that can hug you and make you feel safe. Love is the best friend that sticks around when everyone else has left. Love is the community that rallies around you when you are heartbroken. Love is the hope for better, but the understanding of what is. Love is your heart forgiving when you have been wronged.
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