Love

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Am I patient with my family and friends?  Am I kind when I am upset or wronged by others?  Do I look for approval from others and for them to praise what I am doing?  Am I easily angered?  Do I remember the wrongs others have done to me or those I love?  Do I always rejoice in truth?  Do I protect myself and my loved ones from harm?  Do I really trust in God?  Do I hope for the best in difficult or stressful situations?  Do I persevere when the going gets tough?

Not necessarily.  I am impatient.  I can be unkind and flip.  I seek the approval and praise of others a lot.  I anger far too easily.  I know I do not let go of hurts done to me and my loved ones right away.  At times the truth can be really hard for me.  I can be the one who hurts my loved ones instead of protecting them.  I don’t always trust in God.  Sometimes I do not see how good can come of a situation and lose hope.  And I find it really, really hard at times to persevere when things are rough.

But loving is what I am called to.  To love, really, truly love.  Clearly, I have a great deal of work to do in my call to love.  I am far from being as loving as God would like me to be.  But I know with the help and grace of the Holy Spirit I can little by little become a more loving child of God.  I just need to hang in there and focus daily on letting God’s love change me and flow through me.  I’m beginning to think that learning to love may take my whole lifetime.