Each year I try to have a “theme word”. Not one I accidentally
stumble on, but one I pray about before the next year starts. 2015, that word
was LOVE. Each day I made a conscience effort to learn something new about
love. Or at the end of the day I reflected on what God showed me in regards to
love.
I must confess, I thought 2015 would be easy compared to
theme words of previous years. It wasn’t.
By January 5th I wrote in my journal, “Hmmm,
love might be harder than I thought for a theme word.” I didn’t feel
God was showing me anything new. Yet, I did find myself trying to make a more
intentional effort to love those around me.
Week 2 and I wrote, “Love. Such a hard theme word.” I’m beginning
to see a pattern here.
Week 3: I wrote, “Love. Still being challenged with this
theme word.” I expected things to be obvious. I expected to have so
much to write about. Yet, that wasn’t what I experienced.
By the end of January I am writing, “Grrrr, why did I
pick this stupid word?”
In the middle of February I wrote, “This “love” theme
word really isn’t working for me. I’m going to change it.” Silly me. If God
really lead me to pick this word did I think He would let me throw it out that
easily?
By the middle of March I wrote, “I feel so lost this year with a theme word. The new one isn’t working either.” Hmmmm
By the end of March I no longer focused on a “theme word”.
You see, LOVE is NOT a word. God has taught me that it is
so much more than that. In fact, love is hard to capture in words. But I will try.
Here are some of the things I learned in 2015:
1.
Love when it isn’t deserved.
2.
Love when you don’t want to.
3.
When you do something out of your “comfort zone”
for a friend (or stranger), that is love.
4.
Love is constant. It isn’t on again, off again.
5.
Love is NOT a feeling.
6.
Love, the kind of love God wants us to have, is
an action. And therefore, love requires action.
7.
Love is NOT separated by time, space or death.
8.
Love surprises!
9.
Love is when your name is safe in someone else’s
mouth.
10.
I don’t have to like someone to love them.
11.
Love forgives without forgetting.
12.
Love is NOT rigid.
13.
Love requires, no it demands, patience.
14.
Love is NOT trust and trust is NOT love.
15.
Love and sacrifice are two sides of the same
coin. You can’t have one without the other.
16.
Love is LONG suffering.
17.
Love grieves.
18.
Love is sitting Shiva with someone in need.
19.
Love does NOT discard the unlovable.
20.
Love obeys.
21.
The saying “Love Knows No Boundaries” is
inaccurate. Love does “know” boundaries. Boundaries that protect and cherish.
22.
Love is chosen, it is not something that accidentally
falls on us.
23.
Love grows.
24.
Love is at times, silent. That doesn’t mean it
isn’t there.
25.
Love restrains.
26.
Love restores, revives and strengthens.
27.
Love builds up, it NEVER tears down.
28.
Love is not easy, in fact, it can be downright
difficult.
29.
Love recognizes when others are hurting.
30.
Love is truth and honesty sprinkled with a
little sugar.
31.
Love has no room for ego.
32.
Love accepts the generosity of others.
33.
Love is faithfulness without limits. Wow! That
thought is almost unfathomable for me. Love is faithfulness without limits.
34.
Love ebbs and flows.
35.
Love ignored – dies.
36.
Love is a solid foundation in turbulent times.
37.
Love is eternal and supernatural. It continues
regardless of circumstances or feelings. It just is.
38.
Love protects.
39.
Love repays with gratitude.
40.
“Jesus didn’t say ‘I love you’ with three little
words but with three big nails.”
41.
God IS love!
God provided so many love lessons in 2015, I can’t even
begin to capture them all. But I must share this one story:
I work in a crisis pregnancy center. God directed a young
woman to the center who needed help. She is pregnant, seeking to make an
adoption plan, homeless, familyless, friendless, hopeless. She is not very
nice, to anyone, even me. The help she needs, she refuses. Instead she opts to
just see what she can “take” or get. Each time I met with her I would pray and
ask God what he expected from me. “Just love her” is the answer God impressed
in my heart. BUT, she didn’t make that easy. Sometimes to love her meant to let
her make mistakes. Sometimes it meant to tell her things she didn’t want to
hear. Sometimes it meant to sit with her as she cried. Sometimes it meant overlooking
her crassness. And so on.
It is only now as I reflect on my “theme word” for 2015
that it occurred to me that God allowed this woman into my life to show me what
love is. To allow me the opportunity to practice it. To remind me that often, I
am just like this young woman to Him.
Yet, He never leaves me. He never tires of me. He never
gives up on me. He guides me, protects me, teaches me, disciplines me, takes
joy in me. In other words, He LOVES me!
WOW!
