Love is ... part 2

I like Necco wafers. For me there is excitement in the unwrapping of the end of the package and placing that little chalky-flavored bit of candy right in the middle of my tongue. Those little bits of flavor bring back special memories of childhood for me. One of my favorite recurring memories is of my grandfather sitting in his recliner, smoking his pipe and sharing his wafers with the grandkids. The rule was that Pop-pop would open the candy roll and take the first one, then each grandchild would receive one in order of your descending age, but … if you didn’t take the color that came up when it was your turn, you had to wait until it was your turn again during the next round. Sometimes one of the kids would choose to not take the little piece of candy that was offered and would try to get the next one that came up because that was his or her “favorite”. That never worked with my grandfather! He would remind us of the “rule” and how we each took our turn, and we each had a choice to take what we were offered. Then he would go to the next grandchild. There were many times we would take the little wafer when we didn’t care for that particular flavor! As I grew up, I wondered if we took it because we didn’t want to “miss our turn” or because we didn’t want to disappoint Pop-pop.

I learned a lot of life lessons from those rolls of chalky candies. I learned that life is good - even if whatever you are dealing with isn't your favorite part. I learned that when we are given the freedom of choice we must accept the consequences of our actions. I learned that as I grew older, there were more and more people I needed to share with in order to be able to enjoy the piece of life I was offered.

And then there were all the flavors! How could I not learn that life was about all of the flavors and experiences that we encounter? Some of were hard to distinguish between, but others were so rich and colorful that you could not help but want to savor them slowly and enjoy them down to the very ... last ... moment. ahhh...

I don't think my grandfather planned on teaching me or my siblings or my cousins all these lessons from a simple roll of candy. But I think it would please him to know that he taught us how to love life, to love others, and to love the simple things that memories are made from.

Miss you Pop-pop.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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 the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~ 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a

Another rainy day ...

These past few weeks have had an abundance of rain to share with us and frankly, I’m tired of the gray! In south Florida there is a term for all this rain, it’s called “liquid sunshine”. But here in north Georgia, the sun is not sunshiny during the rain. It’s making me tired of the gray.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the rain. I am even grateful for the clouds and the cool temperatures. I’m just tired of all of the gray. Do you know what I mean? Have you ever felt the same way?

I have found that in life it is so much simpler when things are black or white, right or wrong, up or down … you get the idea. But when things start to blur, it is harder to make choices. Like when it rains. Do I really need to go out or can it wait until tomorrow? On one hand we need to balance the perceived need and on the other, our own wants. Sometimes it is easier than at other times.

While raising my young children if we ran out of milk or bread or diapers, that was an absolute need that far outweighed my wanting to stay at home where it was warm and dry. Now that I am older and my children do not live at home I can look in the fridge and think to myself, “Tomorrow is soon enough to pick up some milk.” My desire to stay warm and dry has won out against the need for milk. I’ll just change the menu for tonight.

Yet now I find that the choices aren’t as easy as they once were. Now I do not have the external guides that I once had and the choices, the decisions I must make are often more difficult. Now the choices and the issues I wrestle with are often blurred into matters that have the nuances of others lives besides my own. Now, I make decisions and choices on matters that have far-reaching implications. When I go out to the grocery store for my milk or bread I can not help but think – where did the food came from? who produced it? is the packaging recyclable? what of the child who is hungry tonight?

And it is still raining. But I see a touch of sun shining through!

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13: 11-12

Love is ... part 1

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." --Jessica - age 8

These past few weeks have been bumpy for me. I have had some uncluttering to do in my head and as I've worked to clear my mind I've had to step away from blogging. Pardon the absence. And, I'm glad to be back!

I found the above quote as I looked for something to describe the way God loves us and how we can show that same love to others. There were loads of romanticized quotes on love; cynical quotes on love; judgmental & opinionated quotes & silly quotes on love. But, from the thoughts of a child I saw a purity on the thought of what love truly is.

It seems to me that love is about relationship. Sometimes it is a family relationship, the love between a parent and child - regardless of either ones age. Sometimes we see love in the acts of sacrifice by soldiers and their families - a patriotic love, a love of their country and way of life. Sometimes we see love grown out of a common bond between people who have a shared tragedy in their lives - the death of a child or the devastation of a hurricane. But it seems to me, love is about a relationship that is built between people.

That is why I like what Jessica said about love. Relationships are fragile and easy to hurt, harm or break. So we shouldn't say "I love you" unless we mean it from somewhere in our common bond of life. And if we mean it, we really should say it often so we can strengthen those bonds and build each other up and enrich our relationships.

May you know love ...