Perfect Love Part 2

Ahhh... Perfect Love. Yes. It can exist. Will we ever be able to truly fully match up? Maybe not. We are human of course. But knowing where to begin is a start.  So, here we go....

Love is Kind. At this point, I think there is a pretty good reason for patience being listed first. Patience is probably the basis for all subsequent attributes! Kindness is easy... until it's not. Just watch a group of kids at the park. How long does being kind last? Are they all being kind? Yeah, probably not, and those who are being kind? Give it a minute. Someone will come take their toy and it is on! Kindness takes work and a lot of thinking before we act.

Love Does Not Envy. This may be a difficult one to dissect. Envy is a type of selfish jealousy... wanting what someone else has to a point of anger or hate. Though not something I've personally struggled with, I have seen how this sort of thing can begin. Envy is not something you want to mess with. Proverbs 14:30 specifically says, "Envy makes the bones rot" (ESV). Um, no thanks.  Be happy with what God has given you and be happy for what God has given to others.

Love Does Not Boast. When a person is boasting, they are centered on self. Love should be the opposite... focused on the one being loved.

Love Is Not Proud. What is the opposite of pride? Humility. Again, one who is proud is focused on self. A humble person is more apt to show respect and esteem the one they love above themselves.

Love Does Not Dishonor. Here's a good one (not that the others aren't). In order to understand this attribute, one needs to look no further than the military and someone who has been given a dishonorable discharge. Dishonor brings disgrace and shame to a person. I can't imagine ever intentionally dishonoring any part of my family, and yet, I have seen it happen more than I care to count. Wives dishonoring their husbands and husbands dishonoring their wives. Dishonor is hurtful and lasting. It can leave a bitter taste in the relationship for a long time. Love does not dishonor, it brings honor.

Love Is Not Self-Seeking. Another attribute clearly concerned with the problem of selfishness. If I were to make an assumption, it would be that next to patience, an attitude of selflessness is the most important attribute to exhibit to those you love. The reason you cook a meal, the reason you clean the house, the reason you buy her flowers, the reason you do anything should not be to receive something in return. Love gives, expecting nothing in return. Would we like something in return? A thank you? Guys, sex? Girls, attention? Sure! But to be able to give freely without expecting anything in return is truly loving that person. Hard, but doable. 

To be continued.....

Perfect Love

Perfect Love. That sounds so fairy tale-ish. Is it even possible to experience such a thing? And if so, what does it look like? Feel like? Sound like? I Corinthians 13:4-8a is the best source we have to know what love, real love, looks like. Let's dig into this one attribute at a time:

Love is PATIENT - This can sometimes be an epic fail for me. In this world of having everything at my fingertips, questions answered by google in seconds, and the feeling that I need to act on everything immediately, I so easily transfer all of that expectancy and pressure onto the ones I love most... more specifically, my significant other. First of all it is not fair for me to do that and secondly, that's not love. Though I have found when I am patient things tend to work out wonderfully, if I have to wait a little longer than I expected, watch out! I get upset, frustrated, antsy, pushy, mouthy, annoying, you name it. None of those qualities tell my man "I Love You", in fact they probably scream the opposite. Ouch. That's not what I want at all, and yet that's what I'm doing. And let's get real about this, how often do I hope he is patient with me? Hmm?? Plenty. Being patient out of love is not something that is going to happen over night, but I am working on it, and I am already feeling better. Letting go of the control I think I have and trusting God, ultimately, for the answers and the outcomes. I once read, patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind (author unknown). God's plans are higher than mine and His timing is ALWAYS perfect :)  Plus, the best things in life are worth waiting for, right!?

Running Strength

"Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing" (I Cor. 9:24-26, NLT).

Wow! There is so much in just those 3 verses! I am not a runner, but I participate in sports where running is very important. If I'm playing softball, I better be able to beat a thrown ball as I run to my intended base. If I'm playing soccer, I better be able to beat the other team to the ball. In each of these instances, I am running to accomplish something that by the same time tomorrow will be long forgotten. Even if it happens to be an epic play, good or bad, the memory of it will eventually fade.

Running takes strength, not just endurance or speed. In order to move from where I am, my muscles need to fire in a way that will produce a powerful take-off and the desired end effect. If I ask any random person on the street what muscles or body parts would be key in helping a runner to succeed, the immediate answer would almost assuredly be something to do with one's legs. Common sense, right? But that's not where the force lies. It lies in the glutes. Your butt. Another interesting running fact? You will only be able to run as fast as your arms allow you. Now that's something to think about! How is that possible? Running encompasses muscles of the entire body, each of them working together to promote perfect running strength. Without one or two of these muscles being strong, you may still be able to be a good runner, but greatness comes when everything is tied together and used to the best of its ability.

What element do you need to add to your workout today, or even your life, so that you can 'run' to the best of your ability? Then, do something today that will count for eternity. Invest in someone's life, encourage your co-worker, live with purpose :)

What is your default setting?

Ever have a defining moment? That keeps showing up!? You know, the one that you get, you are aware of, you know how to approach, and yet when all is said and done, you just can't seem to get it right. Yeah, that one. To be quite frank, it's frustrating. I've read the books and prayed the prayers. In my heart, I know I am a better woman now than who I was then, but for some reason, that is not what is coming across. Why? Why is it that there are things that God has to keep showing me over, and over.... and over again? As a general rule of thumb, I am very much a listen and learn person. I prefer to heed good advice and stay out of trouble. Living and learning may be fun (sometimes), but I personally don't like the trouble it has the potential to bring. But here I sit, once again facing a situation where I keep having to learn the same lesson.

There's good news though! A few months ago, it hit me. I found out the 'why'. Well, maybe I already knew the 'why', but I found out the depth of the 'why'. God initially showed me the 'why' when I was a freshman in college. Ever so often, He has had to knock me on the head and remind me again. This time though, the answer to the reason why I kept repeating the same mistake seemed deeper. In short, not only my focus, but also my expectations were being diverted from God to something else. That is what our natural mind does all on its own. Our focus has a default setting and that is 'man', not God. This is a daily battle for me. Who do I trust for the outcomes, God or man? Who do I expect to meet my needs, God or man? Who do I look to for direction and purpose, God or man? God has been my light sooo many times before, so why is it that in this one area of my life, I can't seem to change the default setting? It is frustrating. It hurts... me and those I love. It has cost too many tears. Today I will choose to trust God for what is to come, to lean on Him for my needs, the ones no one can supply but Him. God's Word tells us to deny ourselves and to pick up our cross daily. I don't know about you, but denying myself is not what I want to do, and I sure don't what to carry a heavy cross! This is something I have to fight daily, but I know that with His strength, His perfect strength, the load of this cross will get lighter.

Choose you this day...

Today, perfect strength means passing up something I want so badly. Choosing to trust that God will supply something even more perfect than I can imagine is not easy, but I know it will be worth it. To be completely honest, we make these types of choices on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. The importance and types of our choices may not seem equal, but they are. These choices determine our priorities, our stress level, and even our waist line!

I did not choose to be single. Most of the single people I know did not choose to be single, and yet, here we are. Whether it was an unwanted divorce, an untimely death, or the lack of a good suitor, singleness is not something we desire or would have purposely chosen. What my friends and I have chosen to do is to trust God to direct our path, to show us our purpose, to fill the empty spaces we so often may feel. His hand has not failed us. Sometimes we may fail ourselves, or the expectations of others, but HE has not failed us. His love is steadfast, His grace unending.

Trusting God may have been our first choice, but then we decided to trust that His words and His biblical guidance is best. Christianity has a running theme about building relationships... Love one another, encourage one another, pray for one another. We choose to make time for one another on a weekly basis, at the very least. We choose to be honest with each other, to be held accountable to each other. I am so thankful I have a close group of friends that love me for who I am, are not afraid to be honest with me and allow me to be honest with them, that take time to lift me up in prayer and encourage me when they don't even know I need it, who listen to me when I talk entirely too much, who don't mind their cars being sabotaged on their birthdays. God has given each of us more than we ever expected within our friendship and brought us each together in such a way that only He could do. Singleness is not just bearable, it is enjoyable, and in a way that is honoring to God.

Choose to say, "It is well with my soul."

And You?

     In our Bible study for this semester we are studying Beth Moore's David: Seeking a Heart Like His.  There are many things about David's life that astound me!  There's good, bad, and downright ugly.  Some things I am learning for what seems like the first time!  I cannot get over the amount of wives David took on.  For a moment, let's just pretend that we are one of them...  a wife of David., a wife of a man who was considered to have a heart like God's.  And yet, as the wife of a promised king, you have to deal with your husband being gone all the time to war, matters of adultery and polygamy, not to mention being chased by people who want to kill your family!

     Let's compare David and Job for a minute:  Job, not called by the Bible a man with a heart like God's, but we see him honoring God in his actions even in the midst of some pretty hard trials.  He lost ALL that he had... except his wife!  (Oh the irony!)  His wife had a different attitude towards God and her husband and the trials they encountered.  She was bitter and hateful, ugly and disrespectful with a complete lack of faith and trust in their God.

     Though neither one of these wives had ideal circumstances in their marriages, they both chose to react in a completely different way toward their husband.  And, though Job was never referred to as a man after God's own heart, he and David both sought the Lord and kept their eyes focused on the one who is in control, God.

     Anyways, I thought it brought forth some interesting questions as I was thinking about all of this:

1) If you were David's wife and you were being cheated on, knowing that he was called of God and that he was the one who had a heart like God's, what would you have done?  In this day and age would you have divorced him, or trusted God? *
2) If you were Job's wife, how would you have reacted?  Would you have gotten mad at Job and at God for everything that was going on?  Would you have divorced him because of situations, unknowing of the fact that God was allowing it all?

     It's a lot to think about!  These women knew a whole lot less than we do, because we are able to read the story from above the situation, knowing facts, while they were IN the situation.  How fast we often overreact to situations when we just need to stop, pray and trust God.  He knows all, He sees all, He is Sovereign and He has NOT forgotten you!

(*This is in no way condoning a person to act in the way David did that was sinful, but a reminder that we are all sinful and sometimes, I bet, there are things we even hope others overlook and forgive in us.)   

What Separates You??

This past Sunday, the 49ers had a chance to go down in history as the champs of Super Bowl XLVII..... But they didn't.  A mere three points separated them from being the best of the NFL.  In the final minutes of the game, the 49ers had a chance to at least tie the game with a 3-pt kick, but they chose to run the 4th down in hopes of scoring.  They were just a few short yards away and the touchdown seemed in reach, but as we all know, anything can happen when there are so many variables, and it did.  The Ravens rushed the quarterback and he threw a wild ball putting the Ravens back in control and the 49ers still behind.  Not many teams like to tie, but that would have definitely been an option had the 49ers chosen to kick instead of run.  Overtime could have been an epic showdown proving who the best truly was.

In life there are many opportunities for a person to excel, but how often do we embrace these opportunities and really choose to go beyond what is required?  What are you doing today that you know you have been called to do?  Where are you planted that you need to grow instead of complain?  How many lives could you touch in a positive way if you just stepped out of your comfort zone and onto the platforms of faith and belief?  In short, what is separating you from greatness???  God has called each one of us to greatness.  He's given us each a different place to excel.  Time to get it done!