Invest; Choose Love

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

On Saturday, my sweetie and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. Over the years, believe it or not, my sweetheart has done some things that irritated me and yes even hurt me. I also realize that, on occasion, I have done the same thing to him. I can choose to let small petty things bother and damage a relationship or I can choose to let them go and forgive. However, we often hold on to those hurts and then they fester and poison the relationship. Whether it’s a spouse, a coworker, a parent, child, or someone else we choose to extend love or not. I know it’s not a popular thing to say, but especially in marriage, love is definitely a choice; an investment into another person. Jesus tells his disciples “you must love one another”. The word Jesus uses is must, not ought to, or should, or even try; it’s a command, not a suggestion. One thing I am sure of, if Jesus commands it we can do it because God would never ask us to do what is not possible for us to do. It may take time, and it may not be easy, but it will be worth it. Christian friends let's love the way God loved us. Who among us does not need and want love?

Comments

Doctors and Taxes

Tonight, I’m doing something I absolutely hate. My husband and I are working on a budget. I imagine that most of you feel the same way. It’ kind of like taxes and doctors, we dislike them and breathe a sigh of relief when they are done. Truth be told; we really don’t enjoy working on a budget at all. Yet it is one of the necessary components in knowing exactly how much you have and what you can spend. If indeed we are responsible to God for how we handle the resources that God has given us, then we need a clear picture. One piece of the puzzle that can bring the whole puzzle into focus is a budget. It allows you to see and compare what you spend with what you have. Sometimes as I’ve done a budget and looked at what I saw, I could see that the problem was little things that add up. I realized that the problem was that I forgot the advice I had been given long ago, little things add up. As we do a budget, we often see little things th...

Perfect for Me

Tomorrow my sweetie and I will be celebrating twenty- nine years of marriage. What an amazing journey! I have to confess that when we were first married I had some preconceived ideas of what love and marriage would be like. I thought love was having my spouse with me all the time, holding hands doing everything together, never having a disagreement. I thought my darling sweetheart would never let me down or hurt me and everything would be perfect for the rest of our life. Wow! Can you believe how incredibly naïve I was? After twenty-nine years what I realized is that no one could live up to the ideals that I had set because we live in an imperfect world and we are imperfect people. I know, you’re thinking, “It took you twenty-nine years to realize this?” Nah I realized it after the first year. I still smile how over the years God has changed my definition of love. Don’t get me wrong there is n...

Rest For Your Soul

Tonight was such a beautiful sunny night that I decided to go for a walk and enjoy the warm summer sun before another wave of rain hits. As I cranked up my music and headed out. I could not help but praise God for the area in which I live. I, quite literally, live 5 minutes from a small town. If I want to walk, I can walk down deserted country roads without driving at all. Yes, I am incredibly blessed. I saw baby bunnies eating grass by the edge of the road and talked with the most friendly Jersey cows. They always walk over to the edge of the fence as I walk by nodding their heads in greeting. There was a deer, in a hurry to catch up with his “deer” friends I suppose. There were daisies and buttercups, apple trees by the edge of the road and a creek that floods at least once during the spring. I also occasionally see a very friendly donkey and a few horses who always come to the edge of the fence hoping I have sugar for...

Inspirations

Search This Blog